"Fragile" is a song written and performed by
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
musician Sting from his second studio album ''
...Nothing Like the Sun''. Released as a single the following year, it placed to number 70 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Sung additionally in both Spanish and Portuguese under the titles "Fragilidad" and "Fragil", it appeared twice more on his 1988 EP variant of the album, ''
Nada como el sol''. The Spanish version features as a b-side to "
I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying".
The song is a tribute to
Ben Linder
Benjamin Ernest "Ben" Linder (July 7, 1959 – April 28, 1987), was an American engineer. While working on a small hydroelectric dam in rural northern Nicaragua, Linder was killed by the Contras, a loose confederation of rebel groups funded by t ...
, an
American civil engineer who was killed by the
Contras in 1987 while working on a hydroelectric project in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
.
"Fragile" was the opening song in Sting's ''
...All This Time'' concert, recorded on the evening of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
in 2001. Sting performed the song with cellist Yo Yo Ma during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The song appears in the 1995
Oscar-nominated documentary ''
The Living Sea''.
[ The Living Sea: Soundtrack from the Imax film]
Sting also dedicated the song to both Ukraine and the women of Iran during his show in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
at 19 October 2022.
A version of the song with
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...
was included in Sting's ''
Duets'' compilation album (2021).
Track listings
UK 7" Single
# "Fragile" –
# "Frágil" (Portuguese) –
Bolivian 7" Single
# "Fragil" –
# "Si Estamos Juntos" –
UK CD Single/ UK 12" Single
# "Fragile" – 3:45
# "Frágil" – 3:50
# "Frágilidad" – 3:52
# "Mariposa Libre" – 4:54
Spanish 7" Single
# "Fragile" – 3:54
# "Frágil" (Portuguese) – 3:50
European 7" Single
# "Fragile" – 3:54
# "Frágil" (Portuguese) – 3:50
German 12" Maxi Single/ European CD Maxi Single
# "Fragile" – 3:54
# "Up From The Skies" – 10:06
# "Someone To Watch Over Me" – 4:32
Uruguayan 7" Single
# "Fragile" (In Spanish) – 3:55
# "Conversation With A Dog" – 3:34
Canadian 7" Single/ US 7" Single/ Japanese 3" CD Single/ Japanese Promo 3" CD Single
# "Fragile" – 3:54
# "Fragilidad" (Spanish) – 3:52
Portuguese 7" Single
# "Fragile" – 3:54
# "Frágil" (Portuguese) – 3:52
US Promo 7" Single
# "Fragile" – 3:54
# "Fragile" – 3:54
French 7" Single/ French CD Single
# "Fragil" (Portugues) – 3:50
# "Mariposa Libre" – 4:54
Spanish 7" Single
# "Fragilidad" – 3:52
# "Fragil" (Portugues) – 3:50
Mexican 7" Promo Single
# "Fragilidad" – 3:52
# "Fragilidad" – 3:52
French 12" Promo Single
# "Fragil" (Portugues) – 3:50
# "Fragil" (Portugues) – 3:50
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
1987 songs
1988 singles
A&M Records singles
Macaronic songs
Music videos directed by Dominic Sena
Songs written by Sting (musician)
Sting (musician) songs