Shape of My Heart — Sting
Overall Rating — 9/10
Today’s choice is my first time reviewing a song that I hadn’t previously heard, or so I thought… I was recommended this tune and upon hearing it I promptly recognised the riff. Some of you may recognise the memorable riff sampled by Craig David with ‘Rise & Fall’, Sugababes’ ‘Shape’, or most notably, (like myself) Juice World’s ‘Lucid Dreams’. Released in August 1993, the pop rock was the fifth single from Ten Summoners Tales. Hearing the guitar segment wrote with Dominic Miller, Sting realised the potential of it and knew it would make a great hit. After he went away for a walk, he came back with the lyrics for the song, where it was joked that he ‘found them under a rock’.
Introducing the song, we hear the riff played alongside the bass guitar. This riff remains in the verses, where we are introduced to the story of the song of a gambler who is unlike any other gambler. This character doesn’t want to play for the money but to discover the logic in luck.
Presented in the chorus, we are displayed with what each card symbolises,
“I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that’s not the shape of my heart”.
Over and over, the riff continues, this time with the addition of strings and some fitting backing vocals. A captivating harmonica plays during the instrumental, adding a various aspect to the song. When I heard this, I instantly knew this was my favoured segment of the piece.
The riff and the intriguing story locks me into want to listen to this song. I would deem this track to be nothing but commendable, and it is worthy of its 9/10 rating, it’s no wonder why so many people have sampled the riff.
My favourite lines from this hit are:
“If I told her that I loved you,
You’d maybe think there’s something wrong.
I’m not a man of many faces,
The mask I wear is one”.
