I saw Sting perform with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra on Friday. Absolutely incredible. Before performing ‘Russians’, Sting gave this explanation of its origin:
I imagine like most of you, I was brought up under the shadow of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. In the early Eighties it was a particularly frigid time in the conflict. And at the time I had a friend who was doing research at Columbia University in New York City and he had a piece of technology which doesn’t sound like much nowadays but at the time it was pretty spectacular. He had a machine that could steal the signal from the Russian satellite above the North Pole and we could watch Russian television. So on Saturday night he and I would have a few beers and we’d end up back at the university and climb this little spiral staircase to this tiny attic room at the top of the college. And he’d turn this machine on and low and behold: Russian television! You know it was after midnight in New York City so it’s like 10 in the morning, Sunday morning in Moscow and we were drunk and watching Russian children’ shows. Russian Sesame Street and cartoons and shit like that. But what struck me was how beautifully made these programmes were; with a great deal of love and care and attention. And the obvious logic is that the Russians love their children like we do, which was the basis of détente. The reason we didn’t blow each other up is because all of us had a stake in the future, which was our children.
‘Russians’
In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mr. Khrushchev said we will bury you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
It'd be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too
How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy
There is no monopoly of common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too
There is no historical precedent
To put the words in the mouth of the president
There's no such thing as a winnable war
It's a lie we don't believe anymore
Mr. Reagan says we will protect you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us me and you
Is if the Russians love their children too
If you haven’t yet seen The Fog of War, I highly recommend checking it out. As with just about everything, there are lessons for today. I’d say the same goes for Sting’s song. I've included a snippet from The Fog of War below.
Worth checking out:
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