Twenty Years Later, This Sting Song Inspired by Persian Poet Still Reverberates in Different Cultures
Entertainment, Culture Blog, Kodoom.com Editorial:
Desert Rose (1999), a duet performance of British singer known as Sting and Algerian raï singer Cheb Mami, was one of first commercially successful world music intercultural mixes that brought western and eastern music together. According to Sting, the lyrics have to do with lost love and longing and inspired by the Sufi idea and Persian poet Rumi (Molavi) that pure earthly love is a reflection of love of god. The magical song is uniquely mystical, romantic and yet upbeat. Sting believes through empathy and attentive listening to each other we can weave magical sounds and music connecting our souls (watch the last video).
Desert Rose topped music charts in many countries for years and different versions of it have been performed across the globe, from Lebanon to Germany. We have collected a sample here but make sure you scroll all the way to bottom to see Sting's own interviews and description of the work:
Hiba Tawaji, Lebanese singer, Live at Byblos International Festival 2015:
Arabic, English version by Cheb Mami himself at Homages di Cheb Hasni ou Wardat a Saharah, Live Au Grand Rex 2004:
Live on stage by Sting and Cheb Mami:
Original, Desert Rose, 1999 A&M Records:
Vinh vs Momo perform Desert Rose at The Voice of Germany talent show in 2012:
On Violin by Virginia Serbale Cappone:
Again at The Voice of Germany talent show, Rita Movsesian in 2014:
Even someone used it for his pilgrimage from US to Mecca for Haj:
Sting himself discusses his interest in Arabic music and how the song came up as a fun non serious project inspired by Sufi concepts:
In 2016 STING decided to conduct a small experiment during his unplugged unplanned appearance at the YPO EDGE in Dubai. He invited on stage his newly met fellow musicians, Kamal Musallam (Oud) and Rashmi Bhatt (Tabla) to establish a conversation around "Desert Rose." The purpose of this experiment was mainly to express the importance of one of the most important gift humans have: LISTENING!
In his personal life, Sting tries to be a do-gooder. Last year he helped JANA Partners, a socially responsible investment fund raise billions of dollars to target companies like Apple they think should be better corporate citizens. In 2018 JANA Partners together with the California State Teachers' Retirement System issued a public letter imploring Apple Inc. to take a more responsible approach towards smartphone addiction among children. The letter cited several pieces of evidence that show that smartphone use by children increases the risk of their having mental health problems, and worsens academic performance.
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