All This Time (Sting song)

"All This Time" is a 1990 song by Sting. It was released as the first single from his 1991 album, The Soul Cages, in January 1991.[1] The song was a chart success, especially in North America, reaching No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.

"All This Time"
Single by Sting
from the album The Soul Cages
B-side	"I Miss You Kate" "King of Pain" (live)
Released	8 January 1991
Recorded	1990
Length	4:55
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Sting
Producer(s)	Hugh Padgham
Sting singles chronology
"They Dance Alone" (1988) "All This Time" (1991) "Mad About You" (1991)

Lyrics

The lyrics provide a reference to the death of Sting's father, symbolized by the image of a young boy, Billy, who, at the death of his father, wishes to bury him at sea instead of going through the Catholic rites:

"Two priests are at Billy's father's deathbed—he's been injured in a shipyard accident—and Billy doesn't want the ritual that's being served up, he wants to take his father and bury him at sea."

— Sting, Q, 2/91 [2]

Despite the dark lyrics, the uptempo tune of the song foils their macabre undertone:[2]

"It's about the death of my father, so it's pretty dark as a record but on this song the words are foiled by this fairly jolly tune. That's something I like to do quite a lot, combine dark subject matter with up music. No, it's not based on a dream. The lyrics seem surreal, but they are all images I remembered from my home town: ferries, priests, shire horses. I grew up by the shipyards. I just wanted to escape. I suppose it was quite a surreal place, though. It is the landscape of my dreams"

— Sting, Independent On Sunday, 11/94 [2]

The imaginary character, Billy, is also referred to in the lyrics to the opening song on The Soul Cages, "Island Of Souls".[3]

History

"All This Time" opened the set on The Soul Cages tour. After this, the song was not performed again until 2000 during the Brand New Day tour.[1] The song lent its name to the ...All This Time live album which was recorded on September 11, 2001, at Sting's villa in Tuscany.

The music video depicts the wry, black humour of the song. It featured Melanie Griffith as a manicurist and Sting's wife Trudie Styler dressed as a French maid, and recreated the overcrowded stateroom scene from the Marx Brothers' 1935 film A Night at the Opera.[1]

Track listings

7-inch single / cassette

1. "All This Time" — 3:59
2. "I Miss You Kate" — 3:48

12-inch maxi

1. "All This Time"
2. "King of Pain" (live)

CD maxi

1. "All This Time" — 4:02
2. "I Miss You Kate" — 3:44
3. "King of Pain" (live) — 7:14

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1991) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[4] 26 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 22 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[8] 4 Denmark (IFPI)[9] 10 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] 23 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 4 France (SNEP)[12] 21 Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 23 Ireland (IRMA)[14] 13 Italy (Musica e dischi)[15] 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 22 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 22 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 26 Norway (VG-lista)[19] 7 Portugal (AFP)[20] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 18 UK Singles (OCC)[22] 22 US Billboard Hot 100[23] 5 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[24] 9 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[25] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[26] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[27] 9 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[28] 47 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[29] 96 Germany (Official German Charts)[30] 80 US Billboard Hot 100[31] 92

See also

• List of European number-one airplay songs of the 1990s
• List of number-one mainstream rock hits (U.S.)
• List of number-one modern rock hits of 1991 (U.S.)
• List of RPM number-one singles of 1991

References

1. "Sting.com: Song details for All This Time: Description". Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
2. "Sting.com: Song details for All This Time: Artist Comments". Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
3. "Sting.com: Song details for Island Of Souls: Lyrics". Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
4. "Australian-charts.com – Sting – All This Time". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
5. "Austriancharts.at – Sting – All This Time" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
6. "Ultratop.be – Sting – All This Time" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1462." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
8. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1493." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
9. "Top 10 in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 6. 9 February 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 5. 2 February 1991. p. 23. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
11. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
12. "Lescharts.com – Sting – All This Time" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sting – All This Time". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – All This Time". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
15. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 8. 23 February 1991. p. 30. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
16. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Sting" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sting – All This Time" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
18. "Charts.nz – Sting – All This Time". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
19. "Norwegiancharts.com – Sting – All This Time". VG-lista. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
20. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 10. 9 March 1991. p. 42. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
21. "Swisscharts.com – Sting – All This Time". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
22. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
23. "Sting Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
24. "Sting Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
25. "Sting Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
26. "Sting Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
27. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
28. "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
29. "Eurochart Hot 100 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 17 January 2020 – via World Radio History.
30. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
31. "Billboard Top 100 – 1991". Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.