Running the Country

Album: Left Side Of The Brain (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The theme of this song is Nepotism, which is something the band's lead singer/songwriter Joe Sumner knows something about: he's the son of Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting. And while Joe is fully aware of his legacy and struggles to step out of his father's shadow, this song is about something different. Says Sumner: "It discusses how unqualified and possibly unsuitable people can be, who find themselves in positions of power because of who they are."

    Sumner has accepted some help from his dad - Fiction Plane opened for The Police on part of their 2007 reunion tour. Said Joe: "I just figured if it's gonna happen anywhere, I might as well take full advantage. I think we're ready, we've got a great band and great songs."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.