"Sweet the Sting" is a song written and recorded by

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

, released as the second single from the album ''

The Beekeeper ''The Beekeeper'' is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It deals with the topics of death, adultery and romantic conflict, and makes brief reference to ancient Gnostic mysticism from the ''Apocryphon of John''. Sonically, ...

'' (2005). Following the trend of her several previous singles, "Sweet the Sting" was released as a promotional single only, with physical CDs produced for radio stations. "Sweet the Sting" appeared on radio stations throughout the summer of 2005.

Song info

On the limited edition of ''The Beekeeper'', Amos explains the inspiration and correlation with one of the album's themes:

Track list

# "Sweet the Sting" (Album Version) – 4:14

Releases

Promo CD

Promotional CDs for "Sweet the Sting" were produced for radio stations, but dispersed sparsely, making it difficult to locate a copy of the single. Since the song was not re-mixed or edited for single release, a separate digital download of the single was not made available because the same version appeared on the previously released album. The promotional CDs released contain only the album version of the song, with no accompanying B-sides or bonus material.

Music video

The music video for "Sweet the Sting" was recorded in 2005 and directed by Alex Smith. The sequence of the video takes place during a rehearsal with Amos's gospel choir, with whom she worked to record certain tracks on ''The Beekeeper'', as well as at another location, showing Amos interacting with her crew, playing the piano alone in a small room, and singing without the gospel choir. Most of the video focuses on Amos playing the B3 Hammond organ and singing, making the "Sweet the Sting" a simpler, documentary-type video, compared to her other videos which often include a narrative story with elaborate props and technical camera work. The music video for "Sweet the Sting" has been released on iTunes and subsequently on Amos's video compilation, ''

Fade to Red ''Fade to Red: Tori Amos Video Collection'' is a double DVD set from recording artist and musician Tori Amos and was released by Rhino Entertainment on February 14, 2006. It featured music videos spanning 1992 to 2005, including the singles "Sil ...

'' (2006).

Miscellaneous

"Sweet the Sting" is one of three tracks from ''The Beekeeper'' subsequently included on Amos's 5-disc box set, '' A Piano: The Collection'' (2006).

Personnel

– acoustic piano, B3 Hammond organ, vocals, producer *

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter. Biography Life and career Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...

– drums *Jon Evans – bass guitar *Mac Aladdin – acoustic and electric guitar *London Community Gospel Choir – background vocals {{Authority control Tori Amos songs 2005 singles Epic Records singles 2004 songs Songs written by Tori Amos