Sting: Englishman in New York Meaning

Song Released: 1988
Englishman in New York Lyrics
-
This is my favorite song. It tells you to always be yourself no matter what. I find it very inspirational, especially for discriminated ones.
-
Englishman in New York" is a song by Sting, from his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. The "Englishman" in question is the famous eccentric and gay icon Quentin Crisp. Sting wrote the song not long after Crisp moved from London to an apartment in New York's Bowery. Crisp had remarked jokingly to the musician "...that he looked forward to receiving his naturalization papers so that he could commit a crime and not be deported
-
This song is a tribute to Quentin Crisp, a gay English writer who wrote the famous autobiography "The Naked Civil Servant."
Crisp has always been an eccentric, flamboyantly effeminate man. When he was growing up, being a feminine homosexual was dangerous, and could get you beaten up or killed. But Crisp never tried to hide who he was, and always lived as openly and outrageously as possible. He lived by the philosophy expressed in the song's lyrics: "Be yourself, no matter what they say."
Crisp did a series on one-man stage shows. He took the show to America, where it became quite popular. In the late Seventies, he moved to New York City, where he lived for the rest of his life.
More Sting song meanings ยป
Latest Articles
Trending:
Blog posts mentioning Sting
![]() |
![]() |
Just Posted
Laid to Rest | anonymous |
Ball of Fire | anonymous |
Fake | anonymous |
Cover Me Up | anonymous |
Dollhouse | anonymous |
Doin' Time | anonymous |
Diet Mountain Dew | anonymous |
You Could Be Mine | anonymous |
The Scientist | anonymous |
I Wish It Would Rain Down | anonymous |
I'm on Fire | anonymous |
Blood // Water | anonymous |
Angie Baby | anonymous |
Teacher's Pet | anonymous |
Burn | anonymous |
Weekly Most Popular
Latest Releases
Free Mind Tems |
Vette Motors YoungBoy Never Broke Again |
Progress John Rich |
You Can Have Him Jolene Chapel Hart |
That's What Tequila Does Jason Aldean |
Y'all Life Walker Hayes |
Strange Miranda Lambert |
Sunshine Steve Lacy |