One syllable. That’s it. You hear it, and then that voice — which could only be his, of an icon of both music and sex — starts to nestle in your head. Here, insights from its owner. From him. Sting.

Sometimes mediocre poetry becomes incredible song material.

People send me song lyrics all the time. It’s difficult. I’m not sure what they want me to do with them. Looking at lyrics without the music is like looking at a one-legged man.

Yes, yes, cough and Nabokov is a silly rhyme. I got such grief for that. But I did it deliberately. It was hilarious to me to put Nabokov in a song.

All these kids who say they want to be famous, they don’t know what they’re talking about. You can become famous by showing your dick in Macy’s window.

Gratitude is the fundamental emotion that one should feel in a state of grace.

Assume you’re going to make different mistakes than the ones your parents made with you, because you will.

The whole aspect of fucking for seven hours is really not what tantric sex is about. But, yes, you can.

For more wisdom from Sting, read his full What I’ve Learned at Esquire.com.