An Englishman in New York - Sting

"An Englishman in New York" is a song by the English artist Sting, from his second studio album ...Nothing Like the Sun. Branford Marsalis played soprano saxophone on the track and Manu Katché the percussion.

The song was released in 1988 as the third single from the album, but only reached #51 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, "Englishman in New York" peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1988. The song reached #32 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart that same month. However, "Englishman in New York" was a hit in 1988 in several European countries, reaching the Top 40 (and sometimes the Top 20) in France, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, etc.

In 1990, just prior to the release of his third studio album The Soul Cages, Sting's record label licensed Dutch DJ and producer Ben Liebrand to remix "Englishman in New York" and subsequently released it as a single. The remix played around with the introduction and some of the instrumentation, but the essence of the song remained the same. The new version was commercially successful, reaching number 15 in the UK charts in mid-1990.

Exercises

1. Listen and fill in the blank spaces (Listening text at the end of the entry)
2. What does the title of the song suggest?
3. What do these words have in common?
- modesty
- propriety
- sobriety
- gentleness
4. What do these phrases mean? Can you explain with
daily life examples?
- Be yourself no matter what they say.
- “Manners maketh man”
- “At night a candle’s brighter than the
sun”
- Takes more than combat gear to
make a man.
5. Which of these two sayings do you agree more with
and why?
- “Be yourself no matter what they
say”.
- “When in Rome, do as Romans do”
6. What are some of the challenges of being
yourself in a foreign country? Why is it good to be
yourself sometimes?
7. According to the song, the singer is “An Englishman
in New York”. What would you be if you were the
singer. For example “ A Japanese man in New York” ?
8. If you were “ A ________ in New york, what would
be your greatest challenges?
9. What are pronunciation differences between British
and American English? What sentence in the song
clearly captures the idea

Listening Text

         

An Englishman in New York By Sting

I don't drink coffee, ____________

my dear.

I like my toast done on the side

And you can hear it in

_______________

I'm an Englishman in New York

See me walking down Fifth Avenue

A walking cane

________________

I take it everywhere I walk

I'm an Englishman in New York

I'm an

________

, I'm a legal

_______

I'm an Englishman in New York

I'm an _______

, I'm a legal _________

I'm an Englishman in New York

If "manners maketh man" as someone said

Then he's the hero of the day

It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile

Be yourself

_____________________

I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien

I'm an Englishman in New York

I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien

I'm an Englishman in New York

Modesty, propriety

can lead to

notoriety.

You could

end up as the only one

Gentleness,

sobriety

are rare in this society

At night a candle's brighter than the sun

Takes more than

combat gear

to make a man

Takes more than license for a gun

Confront your enemies,

__________________

A gentleman will walk but

__________________

If "manners maketh man" as someone said

Then he's the hero of the day

It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile

Be yourself

_____________________

I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien

I'm an Englishman in New York

I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien

I'm an Englishman in New York