An Englishman in New York - the Sting (song and analysis)

"Englishman In New York" - Sting
I don't drink coffee I take tea my dear
I like my toast done on one side
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman in New York
See me walking down Fifth Avenue
A walking cane here at my side
I take it everywhere I walk
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
If, "Maners 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
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
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
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
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York
I'm an alien I'm a legal alien
I'm an Englishman in New York

Song Analysis

This song, written by the Sting, is about a man from England who moves to America, specifically New York. The song talks about the man having to adjust and the changes he goes through while adapting to a new society.  In the first verse, the writer even says “I don’t drink coffee I take tea my dear...and you can hear it in my accent when I talk, I’m an Englishman in New York.”  The writer is mentioning how the Englishman is constantly standing out and recognized for being from England. He even says that he is a “legal alien”. Aliens are often associated with foreign creatures that are weird and treated funny, which is the way that the Englishman feels. In reality, he is looked upon as an immigrant and  hates the feeling of  isolation and abandonment he receives. He doesn’t enjoy being treated like an outsider, even that that’s where he lives and should belong.    He is a new man in a big land and doesn’t feel like its where he should be with that sense of force against him.   

The writer says “to be yourself no matter what they say” in the second to last verse. I think this is really important and something that I can really relate to personally. I went to a small Jewish private school in East Brunswick through sixth grade. When I switched to public school, as cheesy as it sounds, my mom told me this. She thought I wouldn’t be used to moving from a grade of twenty people exactly like me to a grade of one hundred sixty where everyone was different. My mom told me to just be myself and not try to be what every other kid was, and not to make myself blend in completely with everyone around me, sort of like what I was used to from private school. This, in much smaller terms, is similar to what an immigrant experiences. An immigrant might move from a really small town in a small country, to a huge city like New York in a country as big as America. In a case like New York City, the immigrant will be moving from an area where everyone was from the same background to a place of numerous different cultures. The immigrant would just have to be himself and not be afraid to be different.

“Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can. A gentleman will walk but never run.” This line in the seventh verse is really effective on the listener as a piece of uplifting advice. This line is used as a reminder that no matter how harsh people might be, in this case because of a false stereotype, you should just avoid the enemy to stay out of trouble. Then when the writer says “a gentleman will walk but never run”, he or she comments on how a person won’t run away from what’s following them, but rather walk, which tends to be much quieter. The gentleman refers to an adult male who is mature and able to handle all the pressure that’s on him.

“An Englishman in America” reminds me of the immigrants back in the 1900s, when they would come to America and move in with others of the same background. Someone like this would move to an area like Little Italy, but for Englishmen.  This reminds me of the song “Why Can’t th English Learn how to Speak” from the Broadway musical My Fair Lady.  In the song, the characters are complaining about how people, particularly from England, don’t know how to speak English. They say comment on their accent and criticize them, which is probably all of the feelings that the Englishman in the song by the Sting is undergoing.

 

Reference to: Why Can't the English Learn How to Speak? - My Fair Lady lyrics