Album: Dream Of The Blue Turtles (1985)

Charted: 49 8

License This Song 

• Under the ruins of a walled city
  Crumbling towers and beams of yellow lights
  No flags of truce, no cries of pity
  The siege guns have been pounding through the nights
  It took a day to build the city
  We walked through its streets in the afternoon
  As I returned across the field's I'd known
  I recognized the walls that I'd once laid
  Had to stop in my tracks for fear
  Of walking on the mines I'd laid
  
  And if I 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 fire
  
  Then 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 are all sleeping
  Beneath the tattered flag we'd made
  I had to stop my tracks for fear
  Of walking on the mines I'd laid
  
  And if I 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 fire
  
  This prison has now become your home
  A sentence you seem prepared to pay
  It took a day to build the city
  We walked through its streets in the afternoon
  As I returned across the lands I'd known
  I recognized the fields where I'd once played
  Had to stop in my tracks for fear
  Of walking on the mines I'd laid
  
  And if I 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 fire Writer/s: Gordon Sumner
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 8

• Another English Teacher from ThailandI love it when Sting time-travels to the Medieval times to keep us hip to the latest sounds. Seriously Great Song.
• Seventhmist from 7th HeavenIt certainly is closer to the "Police sound" than anything else I ever heard from him. The first time I heard it, I thought he might have *reconciled* with his former bandmates.
• Barry from Murrieta, CaThis song is about breaking up with a girl and realizing you made a mistake and trying to get back with her. The military terms are a metaphore for the barriers she has erected to keep you out.
• Madzie from Manila, OtherWhen I first heard this song (during my younger years) I was so impress with the very good blending of the musical instruments and great lyrics.I was not wrong when this song was on top of chart.And the album "The dream of the blue turtle " was my very first Sting Album so I rate the whole album as one of the BEST!!!!!
• Annabelle from Eugene, OrRight before the music starts, there's a sound that sounds somewhat like thunder. I wonder, what could that be? Is it a bomb? Is it a gun?
• Tom from New York, NyIn military science, minefields are considered a defensive or harassing weapon, used to slow the enemy down, to help deny certain terrain to the enemy, to focus enemy movement into kill zones, or to reduce morale by randomly attacking matÃ?riel and personnel. Sting is making a statement about all interpersonal interaction. He believes one can't go further on the journey of life if one is shackled in a relationship. We need to be unfettered to move on.
  
  
• Ryan from Fort Wayne, InDirect quote from Sting:
  
  "Fortress Around Your Heart is about appeasement, about trying to bridge the gaps between individuals. The central image is a minefield that you've laid around this other person to try and protect them. Then you realise that you have to walk back through it. I think it's one of the best choruses I've ever written.'
• Chris from Hull, MaThis song is deeply emotional. Initially I thought it was about a man's inner turmoil - about being his own worst enemy. In essence, I suppose it is about that. I love this song's peaks and valleys. Sting, like Bono, has a very distinctive voice - you know it's him immediately. Another beautiful tune from Sting is "Shape of My Heart".

More Songfacts:

The CaveMumford & Sons

"The Cave" by Mumford & Sons is based on the philosophy of Plato and his work called "Allegory of the Cave."

London CallingThe Clash

"London Calling" by The Clash was written amid widespread fears that the Thames River was going to flood the city.

Detroit Rock CityKiss

Kiss sing about "movin' fast on 95" in "Detroit Rock City," but I-95 doesn't go through Detroit (I-75 does) so they published the lyric as "Movin' fast, doin' 95."

RelaxFrankie Goes to Hollywood

The Frankie Goes To Hollywood hit "Relax" is, as the band says, about "shagging." It was banned by the BBC, which sent it to #1 in the UK as listeners flocked to record stores to buy it.

We Built This CityStarship

Elton John's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin wrote the original lyrics for Starship's "We Built This City." It was the first Hot 100 Top 10 hit Taupin wrote without John.

Dark HorseKaty Perry

Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" was co-written by Sarah Hudson, who was a member of the pop group Ultraviolet Sound. Though Sarah isn't related to Katy (whose real name is Katy Hudson), she is the first cousin of another famous person with the same name, the actress Kate Hudson.

Editor's Picks

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.