Song · Sting
“Fortress Around Your Heart” by Sting
From the album The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985)
“Fortress Around Your Heart” by Sting appears on 11 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1985 and 2023. It was first released in 1985 on the album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Its best result is #25 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #76 alternative song of 1985 and #3,060 alternative song of all time.
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Sting wrote "Fortress Around Your Heart" in a recording studio in Barbados in 1985, fooling around with modal chords on guitar that struck him as faintly medieval, and it ended up on The Dream of the Blue Turtles, his first solo album. He ran with that old-world feel, filling the words with sieges, castle walls and marching armies, all standing in for a love affair under strain. As he explained it, the real picture is a minefield you've laid around someone to keep them safe, and then have to cross yourself on the way back.
The band is razor-sharp: Omar Hakim on drums, Darryl Jones on bass, Kenny Kirkland on keyboards and Branford Marsalis on sax, with Dolette McDonald and Janice Pendarvis singing backup. Sting co-produced with Pete Smith, and it gave him a second straight chart-topper on Billboard's rock tracks chart.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 25 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 161 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s | 200 |
| 1991 | 904 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1996 | 458 | WNEW-FM | WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) | 500 |
| 1999 | 1324 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1324 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1327 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1326 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 1311 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 1311 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2023 | 562 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
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