Bring on the Night (song)

Background

Some of the lyrics of "Bring on the Night" were recycled from the song, Carrion Prince (O Ye of Little Hope), which was written by Sting for the band, Last Exit. The title Carrion Prince (O Ye of Little Hope) was taken from Ted Hughes's poem, King of Carrion, and is about Pontius Pilate; however, after reading The Executioner's Song, Sting felt that the words fitted Gary Gilmore's death wish, and says that since then, "I sing it with him in mind."

Another lyric from "Bring on the Night", "when the evening spreads itself against the sky," is taken from T. S. Eliot's poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, written in 1910-15. In Lyrics By Sting, Sting said of this, "What is it Eliot said? 'Bad poets borrow, good poets steal'?"

The song was only released as an album track in Britain, but in America, as well as Germany and France, the song was released as a single in November 1979. Backed with "Visions of the Night", the British B-side to "Walking on the Moon", in America (but with "Reggatta de Blanc" in Germany and "Roxanne" in France), the single managed to hit no. 6 in France. However, the song did not make it into the charts of US and Germany. The song was also released in a compilation album, The Police, as well as in live form on the album, Live!.

Critical reception

Greg Prato of AllMusic noted the song as being "much more sedate than [some songs on Outlandos d'Amour]." AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in his review of The Police, noted the song as a "second-tier classic."

Personnel

Track listing

1. "Bring on the Night" – 4:15
2. "Visions of the Night" – 3:05

1. "Bring on the Night" – 4:15
2. "Reggatta de Blanc" – 3:05

1. "Bring on the Night" – 4:15
2. "Roxanne" – 3:10