Grossi Galmes Rodrigues

ENGLISH PROJECTENGLISH PROJECTANALYSIS OF A SONGANALYSIS OF A SONG

TOPIC: IMMIGRATIONTOPIC: IMMIGRATION

MEMBERS OF THE GROUP: Grossi, MEMBERS OF THE GROUP: Grossi, Galmes, RodriguezGalmes, Rodriguez

CLASS: 4º B CLASS: 4º B

By Sting

Englishman In New York by Sting

I don't drink coffee I take tea my dearI like my toast done on one side

And you can hear it in my accent when I talkI'm an Englishman in New York

See me walking down Fifth AvenueA walking cane here at my side

I take it everywhere I walkI'm an Englishman in New York

I'm an alien I'm a legal alienI'm an Englishman in New York


If, "Manners maketh man" as someone saidThen he's the hero of the day

It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smileBe yourself no matter what they say



Modesty, propriety can lead to notorietyYou could end up as the only one

Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this societyAt night a candle's brighter than the sun

Takes more than combat gear to make a manTakes more than a license for a gun

Confront your enemies, avoid them when you canA gentleman will walk but never run

If, "Manners maketh man" as someone saidThen he's the hero of the day

It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smileBe yourself no matter what they say



Englishmen have never been illegal or discriminated in the USA due to the English

influence in American history.In the case of Malvinas islands, USA agreed with

the English position, and against Argentina.In the First World War, the USA was neutral at

first, but they tended to agree with England and France.

In the Second World War the USA joined great Britain, France, Australia and new Zeeland

against Germany.

Name the song: An Englishman In New York Sting, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, was born on

October 2nd 1951 in Wallsend – a town in England. If you want to know about his biography or his professional career (including his performance with the band The Police), you

can find much more information in his official website: www.sting.com

Quentin Crisp, Denis Charles Pratt, was born on the 25th of December 1908 and died on the 21st of November in 1999. He was a writer, an actor and a “raconteur” (story teller).

He became a gay icon in the70s.

But, what has this Quentin Crisp to do with this famous song written by Sting? Well, this song is inspired on him. Just after Crisp moved from London to a flat in Bowery,

Manhattan, Sting wrote this song after a visit he paid to Mr. Crisp by the end of 1986 in his flat in New York. During the meeting Crisp told Sting about how hard was life for an homosexual man in the homophobic Great Britain between

the 20s and the 60s. Sting was so impressed that he decided to write the song.

In one hand, it tells us about the cultural differences between American and British people, (not only

talking about manners, but also about their accent).

Here are some references to British culture that you can see in the song:

I don’t drink coffee I take tea my dear (As we all know, tea is a British tradition)

I like my toast done on one side (They seem to eat toasts done on one side)

And you can hear it in my accent when I talk (And of course, British accent is quite different from American

accent).See me walking down Fifth Avenue

A walking cane here at my side I take it everywhere I walk (The typical image of the English gentleman walking with his cane, although the song does not

mention the bowler hat).

In the other hand, this song tells us about the feeling of being an alien – a foreigner - wherever

you are, without belonging to a group:

Read this line:

I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, I’m an Englishman in New York.

Does New York really welcome immigrants? Maybe Sting wants to show us that Englishmen

are proud everywhere they are, even if people do not welcome them.

• The following stanza talks about manners, topic which caused passion in Quentin Crisp, and the fact of feeling proud of themselves, without worrying about what other people

think .

If, “Manners maketh man” as someone said Then he’s the hero of the day

It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say

The following stanzas mention the same things:

Modesty, propriety can lead to notoriety You could end up as the only one

Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society At night a candle’s brighter than the sun

Takes more than combat gear to make a man

Takes more than a license for a gun Confront your enemies, avoid them when you

can A gentleman will walk but never run

Does he consider American drinkers? Why are there so many lights shining at night?

According to him there are other important things to be considered a man for society.

Conclusion:

In our world discrimination towards foreign people has always existed, but in this

particular case it is not about the differences between English and American people. They have always respected each other. In this song, the discrimination is

about sexuality, not only in England (his origin country) but also in the United States, too.

References:

http://vocatic.com/el-significado-de-sting-en-ingles-y-la-cancion-englishman-in-new-york

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Grossi Galmes Rodrigues