"Roxanne" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police in 1978.

About the song

Sting had the idea for the song while being in Paris' red light district with The Police on 1977-10-20.

He presented the song to the band at their rehearsal room in Finchley and they changed the Bossa Nova style to the rhythm we all know.

There's a longer version from the Outlandos d'Amour sessions that lasts about four minutes. Verse two is repeated with Sting singing it in a jazzy way - also changing some lines slightly to "I just have to tell you how I feel - I won't share you with another man" (!). The instrumental jam in the middle with just bass and drums is also extended.

Sting sang four different vocal takes and Nigel Gray combined the best bits to this longer version, which was edited down to the classic we all know.

When recording Outlandos d'Amour (initially for Illegal Records) at Surrey Sound Studios they presented the songs they had to Miles Copeland. He was indifferent until he heard Roxanne.

Miles talked to people from A&M and got a record deal.

At the beginning of the song, during the intro, you can hear a strange piano chord, then Sting laughing. In fact, during the voice recording, Sting accidently sat on the piano just behind him. They decided to keep this on the final mix. Note that you won't hear it on the instrumental track.

Personnel

produced by The Police

Ads

This strange ad is from SOUNDS (April 22, 1978) - promoting the original UK single release (back then you'd hear bits from the song when you called that number):

Another strange ad is from US radio magazine "Fred" (March 5, 1979):

An ad for the 1979 re-release in SOUNDS (April 14, 1979):

Release History

Albums

Roxanne appears on the following album releases:

Singles

CD Singles

7" Singles

12" Singles

Video

"SONG TITLE" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art Video title Release date Release country Video or dvd title YYYY-MM-DD Country





Awards, nominations, and certifications

Awards

This section needs more information.

Year Winner Award Category YYYY WINNER (album, song, producer, etc.) AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) CATEGORY

Nominations

This section needs more information.

Year Nominee Award Category YYYY NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.) AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) CATEGORY

Certifications

This section needs more information.

Country Certifier Classification Certification COUNTRY CERTIFIER (RIAA, IFPI...) CLASSIFICATION (Album, singles, foreign artist...) CERTIFICATION (Gold, Platinum, Diamond...)

Lyrics

Lyrics are property and copyright of their owners, and provided here for educational purposes only.

LP version:

Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Those days are over You don't have to sell your body to the night Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight Walk the streets for money You don't care if it's wrong or if it's right Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Roxanne Put on the red light etc... I loved you since I knew ya I wouldn't talk down to ya I have to tell you just how I feel I won't share you with another boy I know my mind is made up So put away your make up Told you once I won't tell you again it's a bad way Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light You don't have to put on the red light / Roxanne Roxanne Put on the red light etc...





alternate version:

Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Those days are over You don't have to sell your body to the night Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight Walk the streets for money You don't care if it's wrong or if it's right Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light I loved you since I knew ya I wouldn't talk down to ya Have to tell you just how I feel I won't share you with another boy You know my mind is made up So put away your make up I just have to tell you how I feel I won't share you with another man Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Roxanne Put on the red light etc... I loved you since I knew ya I wouldn't talk down to ya I have to tell you just how I feel I won't share you with another boy I know my mind is made up So put away your make up Told you once I won't tell you again it's a bad way Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light You don't have to put on the red light / Roxanne Put on the red light Roxanne Put on the red light etc...

Quotations and trivia

The 7" single version of Roxanne sold over a half-million copies in the U.S. and would have qualified for Gold record certification under current rules set by the Recording Industry Association of America. However, at the time of the song's release, singles were awarded with a Gold certification for sales of 1,000,000 units and a Platinum certification for sales of 2,000,000 units. The change to certification of Gold status for sales of 500,000 7" units did not occur until January 1, 1989.

Alternate and cover versions

An alternate version from the Outlandos d'Amour sessions lasts 3:59 minutes.

Alternate versions

Cover versions

Cover versions of Roxanne appear on the following album releases:

George Michael also did a cover version.

See also

http://www.followtheleaders.fr/rox2006.htm

References