@@DepecheWorld76 I agree, been a fan forever, now 50 years of age. This combines everything. poetic lyrics, beautiful counter point rythms, melody is sublime. I could listen to this FOREOVER
Just the first 30 seconds of Vinnies drumming here shows why he is so great. It's his execution of the parts. They have so much power and groove yet so much subtle touch. His technique and heart makes it possible.
Listen to the version live in Berlin. It's amazing. I love when he sings "and you were my lover and I was your beau". Speechless. In Sting's songs, there are always those few tones which make you feel... Different. Sort of happy and filled, and sort of down. Profound. Really, it's so deep in my mind. I'm only thirteen, but I love Sting. I was at a concert and I loved it. Sun going down, Sting singing Fragile... That's what live is like. Lest we forget how fragile we are✨
I know right? That line gets me every time. The live version really showcases the harmony being sung on that line too, and now I can't help but hear it in the studio version too. This song smashes my emotional buttons really hard.
Although I didn’t have the pleasure of growing up listening to sting ,from a young age my father has always listened/listens to his songs. The day I was born he played desert rose . Stings discography is unmatched he and his songs will always have a special place in my heart 🤍
That is a very nice tribute you gave to your Dad. It says a lot to me standing as a father surviving. I am sure He is very proud of you and from these distances, may God bless you and your family.🦊
I always equated this song to a ballad about life and death. The fox represents the innocence and fragility of existence, the hounds, horses, and hunters represent the challenges and struggles that pursue us through life. It is important for us not to yield our existence to the elements of existence that might kill us. But in the moments of death represented by the shadow on the hill makes all these challenges less important. Reaching the great ocean represents eternity (heaven, the hereafter), laying our heads down in the sleep of death. Being pulled by the forces of time and nature that are as unyielding as that of the pull of the moon's gravity. And after a pale afternoon, the end stages of life, we reach the end and enter eternity. The elements about love remind us of the enduring power of love and why it is so important.
You know you have an excellent artist when the this B-side is better than many A-sides we've heard by others. An insanely talented group of musicians certainly doesn't hurt. ;)
simply one of his best songs ever and has come alive since the live shows he did- everyone has discovered the majesty and beauty of the lyrics- very very special
The music and lyirics are just too beautiful! It brings a Lot of peace whenever i listen to it. Stings an awesome songwriter, but this one si just sublime.
I saw Sting sing this song last night and he gave an explanatory introduction to it. It is about a pair of foxes being hunted. He said that although it was written as a protest against foxhunting, the foxes also represent a pair of lovers and it is them against the world. When seen performed live, it is an incredibly moving song.
***** You certainly shouldn´t be sad to own the other version of this song. In fact it is so that many of the best songs from Sting, only come to their full potential when performed by a symphony orchestra. I don´t know if this is true, but I could suspect that Sting like to write music for orchestra´s, and in fact has to cut many of the originally intended instruments away, when recording in the studio. My personal view on Sting is that he´s the Mozart of our time (minus the insanity)
Doommaster1994 He's great live. I saw him last year for Rock Paper Scissors. I only went to see Peter Gabriel but seeing him live turned me into a Sting fan. I wish I knew how great he was before the show :)
What a fabulous song. One of his least known composition. I love the whole thing. A true love story that gets me each time I listen to it. AND YOU WERE MY LOVER AND I WAS YOUR BEAU. ... The guy is just a brilliant artist
I've admired several different versions of this song. This one is my favorite. Slowing down the tempo made it all the more beautiful and enriched the deeper meaning.
I have the US version that only has a 19-second "prelude" to this song, but when I play it, I have since acquired the full song and just tack it onto the end of the album, like "closing credits". It fits nicely there, with the prelude several tracks before it. :)
I was looking for this version in Spotify too but only found the prelude or symphonicity version. For a moment i thought iwas going insane cause i knew this was the original but couldnt find it. For me the Best one
One of the most amazing Sting songs that should have been on Brand New Day but was cut from the American release of the album. Fell in love instantly...
The fox is done running And the beast is at bay He'd run them in circles By the end of the day And they chased him through the brambles And they chased him through the fields And they could chase him forever But the fox would not yield And some saw her shadow On the crest of a hill And the hounds were distracted Away from the kill One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon And we lay down our heads just like we were sleeping Controlled by the drag of the moon We ran through the forests And we ran through the streams We ran through the heather Though we ran in our dreams And you were my lover And I was your beau We ran like the river For else did we know? One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon And the dogs are all worn out And the horses all lame Oh the hunters they're hunted At the end of the game Our love was a river A wild mountain stream In a tumbling fury On the edge of a dream And they chased us through the brambles And they chased us through the fields They'd chased us forever But the heart would not yield When the fox has done running At the end of the day I'm ready to answer I'm ready to pay And this river's done running And my time will come soon Carried to the great ocean By the drag of the moon
This is the best song Sting produced since the turn of the century (with the possible exception of "Practical Arrangement") and I find it absolutely puzzling how he could leave it out of Brand New Day, especially when much lesser songs like "Fill Her Up" and "Tomorrow We'll See" did make it to the album.
Agreed. And whoever oversaw the mix got it spot-on. Love it. That said, equally 'fignortzed' by its non-inclusion on the album. I mean, WTF?? Only 'After the Rain has Fallen' comes close...
Amazing 😍! Great music! Better and better! The fox has done running And the beast is at bay We'd run them in circles By the end of the day They chased him through brambles They chased him through the fields They'd chased him forever But the fox would not yield And some saw her shadow On the crest of a hill When the hounds were distracted Away from the kill One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon And we'll lay down our heads just like we were sleeping And be towed by the drag of the moon We ran through the forest We ran through the streams We ran through the heather 'Til we ran in our dreams You were my lover And I was your beau We ran like the river For what else did we know? One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon The dogs are all worn out And the horses are lame The hunters and hunted At the end of the game Our love was a river A wild mountain stream In a tumbling fury On the edge of a dream They chased us through brambles They chased us through fields They'd chased us forever But the heart would not yield When the fox had done running At the end of the day I'm ready to answer I'm ready to pay And this river still running And time will come soon Carried to the great ocean By the drag of the moon
L🖤ve this song! Brand New Day has track #7 "Prelude to the The End of the Game" which was a mere 19 seconds long. I was like: "WTF is this...?" It wasn't until a few years later that I found there was a complete song for it. Kind of irritated me. Wish they would have put the complete song on. My head would have exploded! 💣💥
J'ai aperçu un renard mort ce matin en allant au boulot ! J'étais à un Stop, il était allongé là à ma gauche ! Je l'avais déjà aperçu une nuit en rentrant ! Toute la journée j'ai eu des pensées pour cet animal ! Je me suis dis en rentrant, j'écouterai cette chanson ! Pour ce renard !
Our Brand New Day CD had this full song right in the middle of it! It was my favourite part of the album and I'm sad that iTunes only has the first 20 seconds.
Same here. I kept getting it in my head lately and went looking for the song but couldn't find it. I was certain it was on Brand New Day but it wasn't there. Then I went looking through my CDs and found it there.
I believe this song was withheld from the CD release of Brand New Day due to space restrictions so you just get the prelude. Sting often performs this song live at symphonic concerts and it’s even featured on the Symphonicities and Live in Berlin album. However if you want to hear the original studio version of The End of the Game as far as I know it’s only available as the B-Side to the Brand New Day single or on the DVD-Audio release of the Brand New Day album at the very end of the album.
I think it was on the European release in place of “Fill’er Up”. The American release just had to have the country number. Our loss. I absolutely LOVE this song.
In Europe this was the B-side on one of the versions of the first Brand New Day single, along with Sting’s version of Windmills Of Your Mind from Thomas Crown Affair. Fairly easy to obtain on Ebay 😉
END OF THE GAME Sting Lyrics The fox has done running And the beast is at bay We'd run them in circle By the end of the day They chased him through brambles And they chased him through the fields They could chase him for ever But the fox would not yield And some saw her shadow On the crest of a hill When the hounds were distracted Away from the kill One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon And we'll lay down our heads just like we were sleeping And be towed by the drag of the moon yeah We ran through the forest And we ran through the streams And we ran through the heather 'Til we ran in our dreams And you were my lover And I was your beau We ran like the river For what else did we know? One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon And the dogs they are all worn out And the horses are lame And the hunters and hunted At the end of the game Our love was a river A wild mountain stream In a tumbling fury On the edge of a dream And they chased us through brambles And they chased us through the fields They could chase us forever But the heart would not yield When the fox has done running At the end of the day I'm ready to answer I'm ready to pay And this river still running And the time will come soon Carried to the great ocean By the drag of the moon
Does anyone know what this song is about? The way I interpret it is: The "fox" is a man looking for the right woman (or he could be trying to get with one girl), and the "beast" are depressing feelings telling him that he'll never find her. However, the "fox" doesn't give up and keeps searching for her, despite what fate is telling him.
I think the fox already found "her", and she's trying to protect his life -> "and some saw her shadow on the crest of a hill and the hounds were distracted away from the kill". In my opinion the song is just about being chased, no matter if by depressing feelings, other people or dogs;) and how everything ends one day. Not even love can protect us from being "carried to the great ocean", so, getting killed or "just" die. I think this is what it is mainly saying. The rest is simply a love story with a nice setting. That's the way I see it. And please excuse my English - I'm German;)
I always think of rabbits when I listen to this song....I replace the word 'fox' with 'bun' and cut and paste the lyrics to grieving /r/rabbit redditor's posts when they lose one of their family....
The fox had done running And the beast is at bay He'd run them in circles By the end of the day And they chased him through brambles And they chased him through the fields And they could chase him forever But the fox would not yield And some saw her shadow On the crest of a hill When the hounds were distracted Away from the kill One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon And we'll lay down our heads just like we were sleeping And be towed by the drag of the moon We ran through the forests And we ran through the streams We ran through the heather 'Til we ran in our dreams And you were my lover And I was your beau And we ran like the river For what else did we know? One day we'll reach a great ocean At the end of a pale afternoon And the dogs are all worn out And the horses all lame Oh the hunters they're hunted At the end of the game Our love was a river A wild mountain stream In a tumbling fury On the edge of a dream And they chased us through the brambles And they chased us through the fields And they could chase us forever But the heart would not yield When the fox has done running At the end of the day I'm ready to answer I'm ready to pay And this river's done running And my time will come soon Carried to the great ocean By the drag of the moon
