Can't Stand Losing You (song)

From PoliceWiki
"Can't Stand Losing You"
Cover art for the 1978 7" single release of Can't Stand Losing You - the photo was taken on 1978-08-04
Recorded by The Police
Released: 1978-09-01

1979-06-22 (re-issue)

Recorded: 1978-04-01 (unreleased)

1978-06-16

Length: 2:58
Album(s): Outlandos d'Amour
Label(s): A&M
Writer(s): Sting
Producer(s): The Police
Studio(s): Surrey Sound Studios
Released as single? YES

"Can't Stand Losing You" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police in 1978.

About the song

On the day that The Police finished recording Outlandos d'Amour (1978-01-29) Miles Copeland suggested the band should write three more songs and record them later. Can't Stand Losing You was probably one of the songs that came from that suggestion.

The Police recorded it on 1978-04-01, but it seems they weren't entirely happy with the result. They re-recorded it on 1978-06-16.

An alternate version of the song lasts 3:07 minutes and this is probably the version from April 1978. This is not just an early or different mix - it's a completely different version. The intro is longer than that of the LP version. Stewart's drum accents in the chorus are much trickier than those of the LP version. The instrumental part in the middle (which would become Reggatta de Blanc) is absent. The last chorus is also completely different: the additional C and Asus4 chords are not there yet.

The outro is much longer and sounds like the jamming part of a live version - with Sting singing Can't Stand Losing You in a question / answer fashion for a while - with additional guitar "solo" bits nowhere to be found on the LP version. The fade out of the coda ends with Sting singing the Dusty Springfield lines "I don't know what to do with myself".

The version we all know was tightened at the start and at the end - yet in the middle the "Reggatta" part was added and the third verse got more dramatic impact that way. The addition of the C and Asus4 chords in the final chorus was another attention grabber - the coda's "improvisational" style was left for live performances.

Personnel

Release History

Albums

Can't Stand Losing You appears on the following album releases:

Cover art Album title Release date Release country
Police-album-outlandosdamour.jpg Outlandos d'Amour 1978-11-17 UK
Police-album-messageinaboxthecompleterecordings.jpg Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings 1993-MM-DD UK

Singles

CD Singles

Cover art Catalog no. Songs Release date Release country
Police-compacthits.jpg AMCD 905 "Roxanne" / "Canary In A Coalmine" / "The Bed's Too Big Without You" / "Can't Stand Losing You" 1988-04-25 United Kingdom

7" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song/B-side song Release date Release country
1978cantstandlosingyou.jpg AMS 7381 "Can't Stand Losing You"/"Dead End Job" 1978-09-01 UK
40px AM-2147 "Can't Stand Losing You"/"No Time This Time" 1979-11-XX USA
1978cantstandlosingyou.jpg AMS 7381 "Can't Stand Losing You"/"Dead End Job" 1979-06-22 UK
Stub.gif AMP-1029 "Roxanne"/"Can't Stand Losing You" 1979-MM-DD Japan
Stub.gif AM 8622 (Forget Me Nots reissue) "Roxanne" /"Can't Stand Losing You" YYYY-MM-DD USA
Stub.gif AM 8622 (Memories reissue) "Roxanne" /"Can't Stand Losing You" 1985-MM-DD USA
Stub.gif AM 75021 8622 7 (Memories reissue) "Roxanne" /"Can't Stand Losing You" 1996-MM-DD USA

12" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song(s)/B-side song(s) Release date Release country
Radiosample.jpg SAMP 5 "The Bed's Too Big Without You"/"So Lonely"/"Can't Stand Losing You"/"Roxanne"/"Message In A Bottle"/"Walking On The Moon" 1980-MM-DD UK

Video

"SONG TITLE" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art Video title Release date Release country
Stub.gif Video or dvd title YYYY-MM-DD Country

Awards, nominations, and certifications

Awards

This section needs more information.

Year Winner Award Category
YYYY WINNER (album, song, producer, etc.) AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) CATEGORY

Nominations

This section needs more information.

Year Nominee Award Category
YYYY NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.) AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) CATEGORY

Certifications

This section needs more information.

Country Certifier Classification Certification
COUNTRY CERTIFIER (RIAA, IFPI...) CLASSIFICATION (Album, singles, foreign artist...) CERTIFICATION (Gold, Platinum, Diamond...)

Lyrics

Lyrics are property and copyright of their owners, and provided here for educational purposes only.

Called you so many times today
And I guess it's all true what your girlfriends say
That you don't ever want to see me again
And your brother's gonna kill me and he's six feet ten
I guess you'd call it cowardice
But I'm not prepared to go on like this

I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't
I can't stand losing you

I see you've sent my letters back
And my LP records and they're all scratched
I can't see the point in another day
When nobody listens to a word I say
You can call it lack of confidence
But to carry on living doesn't make no sense

I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing

I guess this is our last goodbye
And you don't care so I won't cry
But you'll be sorry when I'm dead
And all this guilt will be on your head
I guess you'd call it suicide
But I'm too full to swallow my pride

I can't, I can't 
I can't stand losing
I can't stand losing you

Quotations and trivia

The main cover photo was taken on 1978-08-04 and shows Stewart Copeland standing on a block of ice in Peter Gravelle's photo studio behind Tate Britain. The photo session for the image Stewart is holding in his hand (which is shown on the back of the 7") was done on 1978-07-20.

"Can't Stand Losing You" is featured in the video game Rock Band.

Reviews

  • SOUNDS - September 9, 1978 review by Pete Silverton:

1978 09 09 SOUNDS review.jpg

  • Melody Maker - September 9, 1978 review by Ian Birch:

1978 09 09 Melody Maker review.jpg

  • NME - September 9, 1978 review by Bob Edmands:

1978 09 09 NME review.jpg

  • Record World - May 19, 1979:

1979 05 19 Record World review.jpg

  • Smash Hits - June 28, 1979 review by Cliff White:

1979 06 28 Smash Hits review.jpg

Alternate and cover versions

An alternate version of this song from the Outlandos d'Amour sessions lasted 3:07 minutes and ended with Sting singing the Dusty Springfield lines "I don't know what to do with myself" at the end.

A cover version of Can't Stand Losing You appears on the following album release:

Cover art Artist Album title Release date Release country
Reggatta Mondatta.jpg Steel Pulse Reggatta Mondatta 1997-MM-DD The Netherlands

See also

External links

This section needs more information.

References