Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner is an English singer songwriter
who has written hundreds of songs and has 16 Grammy awards. Most of us know him
by the name, Sting. One of my favourite songs written by Sumner is this one,
“Fortress Around Your Heart.” (Listen as you read these lyrics.)
who has written hundreds of songs and has 16 Grammy awards. Most of us know him
by the name, Sting. One of my favourite songs written by Sumner is this one,
“Fortress Around Your Heart.” (Listen as you read these lyrics.)
Fortress Around Your
HeartUnder the ruins of a walled city
Crumbling towers in beams of yellow light
No flags of truce, no cries of pity
The siege guns had been pounding through the night
It took a day to build the city
We walked through it’s streets in the afternoon
As I returned across the fields I’d known
I recognised the walls that I once made
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I’d laidAnd if I’ve built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fireThen I went off to fight some battle
That I’d invented inside my head
Away so long for years and years
You probably thought, or even wished that I was dead
While the armies all are sleeping
Beneath the tattered flag we’d made
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I’d laidAnd if I’ve built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fireThis prison has now become your home
A sentence you seem prepared to pay
It took a day to build the city
We walked through it’s streets in the afternoon
As I returned across the lands I’d known
I recognised the fields where I’d once played
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I’d laidAnd if I’ve built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fireWords and Music by Gordon Matthew Sumner; Published by Sony/ATV
Music Publishing LLC
The song tells the story of a love relationship that
flourished and was built to withstand the temptations and destructive forces of
the world. It uses the metaphor of building castle walls, barbed wire, and land
mines around the loved one to protect them and keep the world from harming
them. But the song is now sung from the perspective of some time after the
relationship has failed. Now, the battlements still stand and obstruct the lover
from getting close to the woman he loved. There is a longing to once again approach
her and pain in not being able to draw next to her. He must withdraw for fear of
the danger of getting too close. Yet, there is still hope. The singer believes
he will be able to build a bridge and once again draw near. He will set fire to
the battlements that keep him away. Enjoy the rich poetry of this song as you
listen to its melodic tone.
flourished and was built to withstand the temptations and destructive forces of
the world. It uses the metaphor of building castle walls, barbed wire, and land
mines around the loved one to protect them and keep the world from harming
them. But the song is now sung from the perspective of some time after the
relationship has failed. Now, the battlements still stand and obstruct the lover
from getting close to the woman he loved. There is a longing to once again approach
her and pain in not being able to draw next to her. He must withdraw for fear of
the danger of getting too close. Yet, there is still hope. The singer believes
he will be able to build a bridge and once again draw near. He will set fire to
the battlements that keep him away. Enjoy the rich poetry of this song as you
listen to its melodic tone.