Message in a Bottle (The Police song)

"Message in a Bottle"
Standard European artwork
Single by the Police
from the album Reggatta de Blanc
B-side"Landlord"
Released7 September 1979[1]
RecordedFebruary 1979
Genre
Length3:50 (Single Version)
4:51 (Album Version)
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Sting
Producer(s)
The Police singles chronology
"So Lonely"
(1978) 		"Message in a Bottle"
(1979) 		"Walking on the Moon"
(1979)
Music video
"Message in a Bottle" on YouTube

"Message in a Bottle" is a song by British rock band the Police. It was released as the lead single from their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979). Written by the band's lead singer and bassist Sting, the song is ostensibly about a story of a castaway on an island who sends out a message in a bottle to seek love. Having received no response for a year, he despairs, believing that he is destined to be alone. The next day, however, he sees "a hundred billion bottles" on the shore and realizes that there are more lonely people like him.

The song was the first of the five UK number one singles released by the Police.[7] Rolling Stone ranked it number 65 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time".

  1. ^ "Music Week Fact Sheets. Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 8 September 1979. p. 22. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  2. ^ Kitchener, Heather (17 February 2015). "Paul Simon and Sting review – well-worn classics from two songwriting giants". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  3. ^ True, Chris. "Message in a Bottle - The Police | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  4. ^ DiVita, Joe (29 April 2019). "The 55 Best Metal Covers of Classic Rock Hits". Loudwire. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  5. ^ Tobler, John (2016). "Police - Reggatta De Blanc". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 428.
  6. ^ a b Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (17 July 2000). "Conclusion". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
  7. ^ "The Police UK chart history". Official Charts.com. 20 October 2016.