"They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)" is a protest song composed by English musician

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and published first on his 1987 album '' ...Nothing Like the Sun''; the song was the fifth and final single released from the album. The song is a metaphor referring to mourning Chilean women ( arpilleristas) who dance the Cueca, the national dance of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, alone with photographs of their

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...

loved ones in their hands. Sting was accompanied by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Fareed Haque Fareed Haque is an American jazz guitarist, based in Chicago, Illinois. Education Haque was born in Chicago in 1963. His father was from Pakistan, his mother was from Chile. When he was a child, Haque traveled with his parents all over the worl ...

and

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

on guitar, by

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

on the saxophone, and with

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

providing additional Spanish vocals.

Song information

Sting explained his song as a symbolic gesture of protest against the Chilean dictator

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

whose regime killed thousands of people between 1973 and 1990. This song was recorded in both English (with some spoken Spanish words by the Panamanian salsa singer,

) and Spanish (with additional lyrics by

Roberto Livi The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

). This latter version was titled "Ellas Danzan Solas" and was released on the 1988 EP ''

Nada como el sol Nada Como el Sol is an extended play by Sting (musician), Sting, containing five songs from his second solo album ''…Nothing Like the Sun'' sung in Spanish and Portuguese and published in 1988. It therefore contains four versions sung in Spani ...

''. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song is "one of Sting's most powerful tunes, a tribute to the Chilean women who stand in mourning and protest for their missing sons and husbands."

Live versions

There are several live versions of this song, most notable from the

Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London, and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. Marking the forthcoming 70th birthday (18 July 1988) of the ...

(1988), from an

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

concert (1988) in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

and the

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is an Argentine human rights association formed in response to the National Reorganization Process, the military dictatorship by Jorge Rafael Videla, with the goal of finding the ''desaparecidos'', initially, an ...

. On October 13, 1990, Sting played the song at Estadio Nacional in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

(with artists including

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

Luz Casal María Luz Casal Paz (; born 11 November 1958) is a Spanish pop singer. She grew up in the municipality of Boimorto, took singing, piano and ballet classes, and moved to Madrid to pursue a career as a musician. She became famous in the early ...

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Colai ...

and

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

Cover versions

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

and the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra Project (Instrumental Version) (1988) from the album ''Jose Feliciano and Vienna Symphony Orchestra'',

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...

(1994) from the album ''Cuts to the Chase'', Bob Belden Ensemble (Instrumental Version) (1989) from the album ''Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting'', Mark Hall from the album ''Acoustic Moods of Sting'', the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

(1994) from the album ''Performs the Music of Sting'',

Lynn McDonald Lynn McDonald (born July 15, 1940) is a Canadian academic, climate activist and former Member of Parliament. She is a former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of P ...

(2007) from the album ''It's High Time'',

Holly Near Holly Near (born June 6, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist. Early years Holly Near was born in Ukiah, California, United States, and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley, California. She was eight years ...

& Mercedes Sosa (English/Spanish Version) (1990) from the album ''Singer in the Storm'', Mariano Yanani (2005) from the album ''Babies go Sting'',

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

(Spanish Version) (1989) from the album ''Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring'', and

Birgitte Grimstad Birgitte Grimstad (born 15 December 1935) is a Danish-born Norwegian singer, guitarist, composer and writer. Personal life Grimstad was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the daughter of Aksel Schiøtz and Gerd Haugsted. She was married to ambassador ...

(Danish version) (1996) from the album ''Ord over grind, 51 Beste 1966-1994''.Allmusic - Birgitte Grimstad
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Charts

References

External links

*Sting: ''Lyrics by Sting''. The Dial Press. 2007. *Marjorie Agosín: ''Tapestries of hope, threads of love: the arpillera movement in Chile''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. *''

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