Sting’s 1993 hit “Fields of Gold” still stands as one of his signature tracks and is celebrated as one of the timeless soft rock classics for its serene melody and poetic storytelling.
More than three decades after its release, the song was named among the 100 Greatest Soft Rock Songs by Amazon Music.
Joining fellow legends like Toto’s “Africa,” The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and others, the curated playlist features 100 of the genre’s most recognizable songs.
Written by Sting, the musician shared how his 16th-century manor house in Wiltshire, England, with a view of golden barley fields, inspired him to create the song.
“In England, our house is surrounded by barley fields, and in the summer it’s fascinating to watch the wind moving over the shimmering surface, like waves on an ocean of gold,” he mentioned in his book Lyrics, as cited by uDiscover Music, adding, “There’s something inherently sexy about the sight, something primal.”
Sting during a performance in Belgium in 1991.Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
With the field serving as a metaphor for a beautiful setting that creates a nostalgic feeling, “Fields of Gold” explores a love story through the stages of a romantic relationship.
Apart from serving as the song’s inspiration, the 16th-century manor was also the location where Sting recorded the single.
The musician transformed his dining room into a makeshift home studio.
David Sancious, Sting’s session keyboardist and guitarist in the ’90s, described it as “a live, in-the-studio recording.”
“There’s actually no overdubs on it,” he told Songfacts in an interview. “It’s a really simple song. Sting had a pretty simple demo. He played it on guitar for us and said he wanted a really soft synthesizer pad. It’s not meant to sound exactly like a string section or anything; it’s just a really a background. So that’s the four of us – Dominic Miller, Vinnie Colaiuta, Sting, and myself in the studio – and I think the synthesizer was a Roland from back in the day. That was super simple in the studio.”
View this post on InstagramOver the years, the song has grown into an enduring masterpiece by Sting.
From its moderate success upon release, with the song peaking at No. 16 on the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 before eventually reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, “Fields of Gold” was the song that the Beatle legend Paul McCartney wished he had written.
“Paul McCartney says he wishes he had written ‘Fields of Gold,’” he mentioned on his Facebook, as cited by Farout Magazine. “There are more than a few of Paul’s that I wish I would have written. To hear this from someone I owe my life to is very special. Thank you, Paul.”
In addition, some of the famous covers of Sting’s song include Eva Cassidy’s stripped-down version, which gained massive posthumous popularity in the late ’90s and introduced the song to a new generation of listeners.
Related: 1967 Hit, Ranked Among ‘Greatest Songs of All Time,’ Was Written in a 19th-Century Spanish Home
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