Roxanne

Roxanne... you don't have to... 
Oh no, no, no... Reading or hearing the name Roxanne is all it takes to instantly remember the song by The Police. And you know what? Umm... read on!
[Daily Abstraction 218091201. Painting available.]









Reading or hearing the name Roxanne (which apparently means "luminous beauty") is all it takes to instantly remember the song by The Police. 

Sting, lead singer of the band, wanted to write a song about a prostitute in the Paris Red Light District. Seeing an old poster for the play about Cyrano de Bergerac in his French hotel, he gave her the name Roxanne as this play, written by Edmund Rostand, was based on the idea that Cyrano was in love with his distant cousin Roxanne. Oops. talking about nasty stories...

The song was released in April 1978 as a single from The Police their debut album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point of view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.
During recording Sting accidently sat down on a piano keyboard in the studio, resulting in the atonal piano chord and laughter preserved at the beginning of the track.

And you know what? If you're anywhere like me, you will not get this song out of your head anymore today. Darn...