Police – De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

I’ve never been a huge fan of The Police, but I do like a lot of their earlier songs. They were fun and energetic. 

What does this song mean? Some think it’s about the way politicians, entertainers, and other people use words to manipulate others. Sting called it, “An articulate song about being inarticulate.” Sting wrote this when he became interested in songs with nonsense lyrics, like “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” “Tutti Frutti,” and “Da Doo Ron Ron.” He wanted to find out why they work and write one of his own. He claimed it was his son who came up with the title.

The charm of “De Do Do Do” is that it makes something very complicated feel effortless. That’s a trick the best pop songs pull off. The Police knew how to make a statement while sounding like they were just having a bit of fun. And whether you hear it as a commentary on communication or just a killer hook to blast on cassette, it sticks in your head like bubblegum on a boot.

The song was inspired by the idea that simple, repetitive phrases can have a profound emotional impact, regardless of their literal meaning. Sting explained that the song reflects the way some people are drawn to shallow or meaningless language, and how, sometimes, even educated people may rely on basic communication in emotionally charged situations.

They reunited in 1986 and tried to update their old songs with new releases…the sessions didn’t work. The only song to be reworked and released was Don’t Stand So Close To Me. This song peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100, #5 in Canada, #8 in New Zealand, and #5 in the UK in 1981.

It was on their album Zenyatta Mondatta. 

Sting: “Certainly what we’re producing is not elitist High Art, But, equally, I think entertainment’s an art. I think my songs are fairly literate – they’re not rubbish. ‘De Do Do Do’, for example, was grossly misunderstood: the lyrics are about banality, about the abuse of words. Almost everyone who reviewed it said, Oh, this is baby talk. They were just listening to the chorus alone, obviously. But they’re the same people who would probably never get through the first paragraph of Finnegan’s Wake, because that’s ‘baby talk’, too.”

De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

Don’t think me unkind
Words are hard to find
They’re 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

‘Cause 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

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

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

47 thoughts on “Police – De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”

    1. You had it right…perfect. Sting just tries to make it sound important lol… I’m just kidding but I’m not a big fan of him…but I do like some of their songs.

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    1. They were a great trio Jim…and very talented…all of them. Summers guitar playing is always on point. It’s odd to think he was once part of the Animals…the 1968 version.

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  6. ‘an articulate song about being inarticulate’ – that’s great! Fine song too, they didn’t really release a bad single in their run. If I had any complaint about the first two, maybe three albums is that Sting seemed to have trouble figuring how to end a song… several just kind of keep going with the same line repeated endlessly (ie – ‘Message in a Bottle’, sending out an SOS)… but still, the singles were among the best things on hit radio at the time

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    1. I liked Message in a Bottle and a few others…but this one is my favorite…it’s fun without being stupid when you read between the lines. I’m just weird Dave…because they lost me with Synchonicity….their biggest album….just my odd tastes.

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      1. Synchronicity was quite a shift for them. I LUV ‘Synchronicity 2’, which I’ve written about before, like ‘Wrapped around your finger’ a lot, the megahit of all-time, 5X a day every day on every pop station to this day is OK, but man, I could go a year without hearing it now. But the album seemed to lack the bounce and fun of their early stuff. Kinda like Belinda Carlisle vs Go-gos

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      2. Thats it Dave! The bounce and fun….great description…it was gone. Songs like Roxanne, Message in a Bottle, Don’t Stand So Close to Me, and this one!

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  9. I now have a better appreciation for the song. I always liked it, it was catchy and well sung but, admittedly I never really listened to the lyrics until you spelled it out. And now, I have a better appreciation for the group and their music. Thanks Max!

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  10. Big fan of The Police. Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity are two of my all time favorite albums. This album, Zenyatta Mondatta, is very good…it really cemented the band as a commercial success. I like this tune…not as much as most people do, but that’s on me. It’s as well crafted as a pop song can be–in my opinion.

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    1. I do like most of their stuff up to Synchronicity…maybe I heard it too much…but regardless…they did have a lot of good songs.

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  11. While I guess “de do do do, de da da dad” ain’t exactly Shakespeare, this song by The Police is definitely catchy. I also dig Andy Summers’ guitar sound.

    Another song I’d put in that category is The Beatles’ Hello Goodbye: You say, “Yes”, I say, “No”/You say, “Stop” and I say, “Go, go, go”/Oh no…

    Oh, well, the words do not appear to be particularly deep, but the song’s melody and harmony singing are pretty darn good. Plus, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying song lyrics need to be clever and/or serious all the time! After all, some people want to fill the world with silly love songs, And what’s wrong with that?

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    1. On Hello and Goodbye….I love the fade out the best.
      No…in power pop or a pop song they don’t have to be Bob Dylan to be good. Very few times you get both.

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  12. I love the Police. In saying that I found that all there albums always would have a couple of so so tracks but the good always outweighed the meh. As goody as this chorus is, its catchy as hell!

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      1. Wow! Why is that? I’m curious as I find that one I can listen to front to back. Even the Copeland track is good on Synchronicity. (Miss Gradenko)

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      2. Maybe it’s because it was played and played…and played. That could have been it I don’t know. It’s totally different than Dont’ Stand So Close to Me or songs like that…I don’t know dude. I was an outcast again lol.

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  13. I like Sting’s way of thinking. Very intelligent guy, but then he was an English teacher. I can understand why people don’t like him, because he can come across as arrogant. Ghost In The Machine is their best album in my opinion. “Every Breath You Take” is probably my least favorite of their hits, and I think it was the biggest.

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  14. I know Sting is seen as the Main Man in the Police but I couldn’t get behind much of his solo stuff. The Police was lightning in a bottle. (Hey, that almost sounds like a song title or something from somewhere???)

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  15. I liked Roxanne…I was lucky enough to see them live early at the Commodore Ballroom when I think they were tour in a van..and that was raw, and basic, but when they became more pop or new wave pop….nice songs, but not for me, well I liked Synchronicity 2, and Sting’s solo stuff just never caught my attention,,,,and yeah, Dune! nah

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    1. Yea I was never really a Sting fan…I did like Andy and Stewart a lot…all of them are very talented of course. Cool that you got to see them Warren that early on.

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  16. I think the problem is that a song’s title takes over, and blocks the rest of the lyrics’ meaning. See that title written down without listening, and you think it’s just nonsense. It’s like thinking Do You Think I’m Sexy is about Rod Stewart claiming he’s sexy, when that isn’t what the song’s about at all. Anyway, I don’t love the Police, but this is one of their better songs to me.

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    1. Yea…that is the way I felt as well…I was never a huge fan of the Police and Sting…but I did like some of the songs. Yea the title does take it over! BUT with a title like that…it will lol.

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