When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
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"When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" is a song written by
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 ...
that was first released by English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...
on their 1980 album ''
Zenyatta Mondatta ''Zenyatta Mondatta'' (stylised as ''Zenyattà Mondatta'' on the album cover artwork) is the third studio album by English rock band the Police, released on 3 October 1980 by A&M Records. It was co-produced by the band and Nigel Gray. ''Zenyatta ...
''. Along with another song from ''Zenyatta Mondatta'', "Voices Inside My Head", the song reached 3 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Dance Music/Club Play Singles Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...
chart in 1981. In 2000, a remix version credited to Different Gear versus the Police reached No. 28 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 ...
, No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Dance chart, and No. 94 in the Netherlands. On radio stations, the song is often played concurrently with " Driven to Tears", with the latter being played first.


Lyrics and music

"When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" was one of Sting's earliest attempts at a song whose lyrics deal with concerns of the outside world rather than just his own issues. Ellie O'Day of '' Vancouver Free Press'' describes the lyrics as being mostly a "repetitive chant". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Mike Duquette describes the theme as "a man going insane in a post-apocalyptic world." Sting regards the song as having a
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
vision, something it shares with an earlier Police song, "
Bring on the Night ''Bring On the Night'' is the first live album by Sting recorded over the course of several live shows in 1985 and released in 1986. The title is taken from a song by the Police from their 1979 album ''Reggatta de Blanc''. The songs performed ...
", from the 1979 album ''
Reggatta de Blanc ''Reggatta de Blanc'' is the second studio album by British rock band the Police, released on 2 October 1979 by A&M Records. It was the band's first release to top the UK Albums Chart and features their first two UK number-one singles: "Message ...
''. Sting has said of the two songs "such vanity as to imagine one's self as the sole survivor of a holocaust with all one's favorite things still intact". "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" and "Bring on the Night" also share their
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' critic David Fricke notes a structural similarity between "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" and two songs from ''Reggatta de Blanc'', "
Walking on the Moon "Walking on the Moon" is a song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, ''Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to bec ...
" and "
The Bed's Too Big without You "The Bed's Too Big Without You" is a song by English rock band The Police, released as the final single from their second studio album ''Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979). It was written by lead vocalist and bassist Sting. An alternate version was re ...
". Like those two ''Reggatta de Blanc'' songs, "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" repeats its three-chord progression over its nearly four-minute length. Fricke regards the chord progression as "hypnotic".


Personnel

The Police *
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 ...
– bass guitar, lead and backing vocals,
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
*
Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...
– guitar, backing vocals *
Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
– drums, backing vocals


Critical reception

Author Chris Welch praises the
rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...
of Sting and
Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
on the song, particularly the way they go with the flow and
groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...
with ease. ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'' critic Phil Sutcliffe commented on its "expression of melancholy", noting that it maintains a restrained, dry tone that is able to project sadness without being overly demonstrative. ''RAM magazine'' critic Greg Taylor criticises the lyrics for not doing "anything with its potentially political message" but praises the music, particularly
Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...
' "long ringing" guitar chords. ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...
'' critic John Harris regards it as one of several formless jams on the album, complaining that it "randomly fades out as if simple boredom finally won out". Duquette called it a "delirious dance drone cut" with an "ass-shaking bassline" Police guitarist
Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...
considers "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" to be one of the promising songs Sting had written in advance of the ''Zenyatta Mondatta'' sessions and which form the "meat" of the album, the others being " Driven to Tears" and the hit singles "
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" is a song by The Police, released as a single on 20 November 1980. Released as the British second single from the album ''Zenyatta Mondatta'', the song was written by Sting as a comment on how people love simple-sound ...
" and "
Don't Stand So Close to Me "Don't Stand So Close to Me" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third album ''Zenyatta Mondatta''. It concerns a teacher who has a sexual relationship with a student, which in tu ...
". Police drummer
Stewart Copeland Stewart Armstrong Copeland (born July 16, 1952) is a Scottish-American musician and composer. He is best known for his work as the drummer of the English rock band the Police from 1977 to 1986, and again from 2007 to 2008. Before playing with th ...
has described the song (not necessarily entirely seriously) as "pre Rossinus Mantuanus (via
Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata ''Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Car ...
) with
metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
altered to fit the characteristic Police beat".


Remix version

In early 2000, a 12-inch bootleg remix version of "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" began circulating in prominent nightclubs, played by such disc jockeys as
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...
,
David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...
and
Terry Farley Terry Farley is a British DJ, remixer and producer from London, active since the mid-1980s. Career Farley started out going to clubs in the late 1970s and first visited Ibiza in 1982. He then started working as a DJ, performing at the same clubs ...
. At first it was unknown who was responsible for the remix, but it turned out to be Gino Scaletti and Quinn Whalley, also known as Different Gear.
Pagan Records Pagan Records is an independent extreme metal record label based in Poland. Their roster includes bands such as Azarath, Behemoth, Christ Agony and other black metal bands. Bands ;Current * Blasphemy Rites * Blaze of Perdition * Bloodt ...
eventually got permission from the Police's label,
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
, to release the remix commercially. The remix version was credited to Different Gear versus the Police and reached No. 28 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 ...
. On the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Dance chart, the remix went to No. 7. This version was included in the soundtrack for the film '' Red Planet'' (2000).


Charts


Original version


Different Gear remix


Other appearances

Besides the remix version, "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" has been covered by a number of artists. Sting himself covered it himself on his solo live album ''
Bring on the Night ''Bring On the Night'' is the first live album by Sting recorded over the course of several live shows in 1985 and released in 1986. The title is taken from a song by the Police from their 1979 album ''Reggatta de Blanc''. The songs performed ...
''. The ''Bring on the Night'' version is a medley with the Police song "
Bring on the Night ''Bring On the Night'' is the first live album by Sting recorded over the course of several live shows in 1985 and released in 1986. The title is taken from a song by the Police from their 1979 album ''Reggatta de Blanc''. The songs performed ...
" from the 1979 album ''
Reggatta de Blanc ''Reggatta de Blanc'' is the second studio album by British rock band the Police, released on 2 October 1979 by A&M Records. It was the band's first release to top the UK Albums Chart and features their first two UK number-one singles: "Message ...
'' and features contributions from
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 ...
and keyboardist
Kenny Kirkland Kenneth David Kirkland (September 28, 1955 – November 12, 1998) was an American pianist and keyboardist. Biography Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, Kirkland was six when he first sat down at a piano keyboard. After years ...
. The song was also covered by Tatsuya Nishiwaki on his 2004 album ''Atmosphere/Sound of Gravity''. The Police version of "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" was included in the box set '' Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings''.


References

{{Authority control 1980 songs 2000 singles The Police songs Song recordings produced by Nigel Gray Songs written by Sting (musician)