#SLS ~ An Education?

~ King Ben's Grandma

Thanks to Jim Adams, for hosting Song Lyric Sunday. A very off kilter week at the Casa. We had our Turkey Day on Wednesday since it’s easier to cook without Ben underfoot. Younger came by after she got off work, then Daughter’s BFF came by as Younger was leaving. With the Santa Ana Winds starting and the high pressure, Ben’s ADHD was in hyperdrive SpazmaTaz mode. Basically, Wednesday was full of swirly energy and I spent all day Thursday feeling like I had a hangover. Lots of little dramas all week, but I won’t bore you with the details. Sven seems to be improving. He’s been more active and back to his grumpy and pouting self. I found him with his beard all black and poofed out the other day. No idea what he was so grumpy about, but that’s the old Sven we all know. I’ll try to post some pictures of his goofy face soon. I’ve been feeling more quiet and giving in to my introverted nature. I’m still lurking here and there, but less often. Anyway, on with the reason we’re here…

The prompt words this week – School, College, Education, Class, Degree

Lots of songs came to mind, but I’m not gonna list the ones I didn’t choose this week. The song I did choose is Don’t Stand So Close To Me written by Sting and performed by The Police. It was released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third album Zenyatta Mondatta. The Police won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.

There has been speculation about whether this song is autobiographical. Sting did work as a teacher before he was a famous rock star. He has given different answers at different times, so I guess we’ll never know for sure. You can read his different responses here if you’re interested.

Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
Inside her there’s longing
This girl’s an open page
Book marking – she’s so close now
This girl is half his age

Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me

Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it’s not so easy
To be the teacher’s pet
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she’s waiting
His car is warm and dry

Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me

Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staffroom
The accusations fly
It’s no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabokov

Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me

Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
[Back:] (Please don’t stand so close to me)
[Repeat to fade]”

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How are you all doing? Everyone safe and relatively healthy? What do you think of the song? Do you think it might have some autobiographical basis for Sting? If he’d been my teacher, I’d never miss his class… just sayin. What song would you choose for this prompt? Thanks for stopping by!

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HUGS!

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25 thoughts on “#SLS ~ An Education?”

    1. I’m sorry your noggin has been naggin. Pressure changes were always a trigger for me.
      Your song seems to offer the same speculation. I hadn’t heard it before, or seen the movie, obviously 🙄
      Did Gatsby come for cuddles right away or give you the cold shoulder after you got back? Cats are so funny😂💕

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      1. He was pretty sweet 🙂

        Yes, I wish I chose another song. I didn’t think people would pick Lulu. I was debating Steely Dan’s “My Old School” and should have went with it…

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  4. Thanksgiving can’t possibly ever live up to the hype. In middle school a teacher had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a couple of girls in my friend circle. Not sure what all went on but they were hanging out at his house partying. He was fired (at least) of course. I think now, a former teacher would be far less likely to admit to sexual thoughts of his (or her) teenage students for fear of being branded a child molester. I’ve never read Lolita, but every time I read about it, I always put it on my list. Mostly, I don’t think I’m smart enough to digest Russian literature.

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    1. Actually it might be a good starter for you on “Russian Literature”. Nabokov wrote it in English first, then translated later into Russian.
      We don’t do the full feast. I don’t even really like turkey, but Daughter does. Younger is a vegetarian so she only eats the cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole. Ben had half a frozen pizza. He won’t even try any of the food.
      We get to do the whole thing again at Christmas with a ham instead of turkey. I keep trying to abolish the food part, but Daughter makes a sad face🤷🏼‍♀️😂

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  7. I recall years ago, a friend of mine who knew Gordon, always said it was based on the book Lolita. But Sting does indeed have a habit of changing the answers to fit certain interviews. We’ll never truly know.

    Good song choice.

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  8. I am glad to hear you and Sven are improving and that Thanksgiving went well. Great choice with Police ….Sting is a great talent but I get the feeling he knows it and definitely knows how to use an interview and bend the truth to suit himself 💜😉

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    1. Thanks!🤗🥰
      Yeah, I’ve always sensed some vanity from him. 😉😂
      Times change… no one would dare admit to even having thoughts about underage students nowadays.

      This song has a new meaning since the pandemic though😂😂

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  11. I have to claim ignorance. I guess I only ever knew the chorus to this song (which is pretty catchy). I never knew the rest of it or what it was about. I did read Lolita but it was so long ago I can’t really claim to remember much of it. The one that I read in the past year that was similar and made a big impression on me was My Dark Vanessa. That one is hard to recommend because of the subject material but wow. It really opened my eyes to the teacher/student relationship. Good to hear that Sven is doing better. We do Thanksgiving at my in-laws and it went well. Christmas we do here and since I didn’t cook last year and had a great day I am hoping to skip the big dinner again. We will still have family here, so I will have to entertain. But cook AND entertain? I hope not.

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    1. Daughter has to work Christmas Night, so I don’t know when we’ll cook. Ben will eat pizza or “orange chicken” so it doesn’t really matter.
      She is off Christmas Eve so the morning will be 45 minutes of frenzy followed by not much else🤷🏼‍♀️
      Ben just doesn’t care that much. He likes the tree, and of course he likes getting stuff, but he still hasn’t asked for anything “super special”, so there’s no big Santa gift.🤷🏼‍♀️
      Teacher/ Student can get very complicated. Younger actually had a great relationship with one of her male teachers. She used to babysit for him, and she & her boyfriend at the time hung out with him & his wife at their house every July 4th. That was after graduation, of course, but they were friends during school.

      I think you should just declare there will be sammich stuff, veggies & fruit, chips & dips available on Christmas, then tell everyone if they want something else, THEY can cook it AND clean up😉💌

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