De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (song)

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"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"
the UK single cover
Recorded by The Police
Released: 1980-11-21 (to be confirmed)
Recorded: 1980
Length: 4:09
Album(s): Zenyatta Mondatta
Label(s): A&M
Writer(s): Sting
Producer(s): The Police, Nigel Gray
Studio(s): Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, The Netherlands
Released as single? YES

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is a song written by Sting and recorded by The Police in 1980.

About the song

Sting recorded the demo for this song in Dublin in the summer of 1980. This version is pretty close to the LP version, regarding length, structure, tempo and instrumentation. i can imagine that they even recorded their take overdubbing the actual demo. The opening riff doesn't start with the "D" though, but with the next chord. There's an additional guitar melody in each verse and one tiny word changed in the song's second chorus.

While in Miami in December 1980 Sting recorded vocal takes for De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da in Spanish and Japanese. Nigel Gray happened to be there as he had just finished producing Wishbone Ash. Both versions were released on 7" singles, but left off the Message In A Box release. A strange mix with Sting singing BOTH Spanish and Japanese at the same time remains unreleased (and it doesn't make much sense anyway).

The Police went into the studio again in 1986 to re-record some of their hits. But Stewart's polo accident a few days earlier kept them from really playing together. So they recorded just one song (Don't Stand So Close To Me '86), but it was rumoured that they tried more. An uncredited version of De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86 eventually surfaced when CDs were reissued with surround sound. But this song's 1986 version sounds very unfinished and lifeless compared to the re-recording of Don't Stand So Close To Me. And there's a reason for it: it's a Sting demo "only", not a band effort.

Personnel

Ads

This ad is from NME (December 6, 1980): 1980 12 06 NME De Do Do Do ad.jpg

Release History

Albums

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da appears on the following album releases:

Cover art Album title Release date Release country
Police-album-zenyattamondatta.jpg Zenyatta Mondatta 1980-10-03 UK
Police-album-messageinaboxthecompleterecordings.jpg Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings 1993-MM-DD UK
40px At The Movies 1997-MM-DD Japan

Singles

CD Singles

Cover art Catalog no. Songs Release date Release country
Stub.gif AM S12Y3011 "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"/"Synchronicity I" / "Every Breath You Take" 1988-MM-DD Japan

7" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song/B-side song Release date Release country
Dedododo uk.jpg Catalog no. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"/"A Sermon" 1980-11-21 UK
Dedododo usa.jpg Catalog no. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"/"Friends" 1980-MM-DD USA
Dedododo japan.jpg AMP-713 "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (japanese version)"/"Behind My Camel" 1981-01-21 Japan
45rpm.png AM 58.002 "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"/"Voices Inside My Head"/"Don't Stand So Close To Me"/"Canary In A Coalmine" 1980-MM-DD Brazil
DeDoDoDo flexi RennbahnExpress Austria.jpg none - free flexi disc came with "Rennbahn Express" magazine "Antmusic" (Adam & The Ants)/"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"/"Lightning Strikes" (The Clash)/"Stop This Game" (Cheap Trick) 1981-MM-DD Austria

12" Singles

Cover art Catalog no. A-side song(s)/B-side song(s) Release date Release country
Stub.gif Catalog no. "A-side song"/"B-side song" (add more songs as necessary) YYYY-MM-DD Country

Video

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" appears on the following video and dvd releases:

Cover art Video title Release date Release country
Police-everybreathyoutakethevideo.jpg Every Breath You Take: The Videos 1986-MM-DD Country
Police-everybreathyoutakethedvd.jpg Every Breath You Take: The DVD 2003-04-07 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.

Don't think me unkind
Words are hard to find
The only cheques I've left unsigned
From the banks of chaos in my mind
And when their eloquence escapes me
Their logic ties me up and rapes me

De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
Their innocence will pull me through
De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
They're meaningless and all that's true

Poets, priests and politicians
Have words to thank for their positions
Words that scream for your submission
And no one's jamming their transmission
'Cos when their eloquence escapes you
Their logic ties you up and rapes you

De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
Their innocence will pull me through
De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
They're meaningless and all that's true


Sting's 1980 demo has one tiny word changed in the second chorus:

De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
Their innocence will pull me through
De do do do, de da da da
Is all I mean to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
They're meaningless and all that's true

Quotations and trivia

This section needs more information.

Alternative and cover versions

Alternative versions

Cover versions

A cover versions of De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da appears on the following album release:

Cover art Artist Album title Release date Release country
Vinyl.png Third World Reggatta Mondatta Volume II 1998-06-30 ??

See also

External links

This section needs more information.

References

  • Police, The. Zenyatta Mondatta. (1980) [Audio recording], A&M Records.