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De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

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"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"
Song
B-side"A Sermon" (UK)
"Friends" (US)

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is a song by The Police, released as a single in December 1980. It was the second single from the album Zenyattà Mondatta and a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart[1] and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

According to Sting, the song is about the attraction that people have to simple songs:

I was trying to make an intellectual point about how the simple can be so powerful. Why are our favourite songs 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy'? In the song, I tried to address that issue. But everyone said, 'This is bullshit, child's play.' No one listened to the lyrics. Listen to the lyrics. I'm going to remake it again and put more emphasis on what I was talking about.

— Sting, Rolling Stone, 2/1988

The song was prominently featured in the 1982 film, The Last American Virgin, and on its soundtrack. AFI covered this song live, and Incubus has performed their single Stellar as a medley with this song live.

The B side, "A Sermon", was written by Stewart Copeland. Copeland played most of the guitar as well, including the intro riff, while Summers can be heard in the middle of the song.[2]

Personnel

Re-recording

The song was re-recorded in 1986, alongside Don't Stand So Close to Me '86, and intended for inclusion on the Every Breath You Take: The Singles compilation album. However, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86" was dropped from the album and not released.

The track was, however, included on the DTS-CD release of the Every Breath You Take: The Classics album. The song remains hard to find because later versions of the DTS release do not include the remake.[citation needed]

Track listing

7" - A&M / AMS 9110 (UK)
  1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" - 4:09
  2. "A Sermon" - 2:34
7" - A&M / AM 2275 (USA)
  1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" - 4:09
  2. "Friends" - 3:35
7" - A&M / AM 25000 (USA)
  1. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (Spanish Version) - 4:00
  2. "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" (Japanese Version) - 4:00

Charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 6
Dutch Top 40 11
UK Singles Chart 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 10

References

  1. ^ The Police in the UK Charts, The Official Charts.
  2. ^ Sutcliffe, Phil (1993). "The B-sides and Other Obscure Releases". In Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings (pp.57-59) [Boxed set booklet]. A&M Records Ltd.
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