Desert Rose (Sting song)


"Desert Rose" is a song by British musician Sting ft. Cheb Mami from his album Brand New Day. According to Sting, the lyrics have to do with "lost love and longing". Riding a wave of pre-9/11 interest in Latin and Arabic cultures, the song peaked at No. 2 in Canada, No. 3 in Switzerland, No. 4 in Italy, No. 15 in the UK, and No. 17 in the US. The song is noted for Sting's duet performance with Algerian raï singer Cheb Mami, creating a distinct world music feel to the song.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sanji, and features Sting taking a trip through the Mojave Desert in a Jaguar S-Type driven by a masked female chauffeur while recording himself on a handycam, and then going to a nightclub in Las Vegas to perform the song with Cheb Mami. Scenes also feature Sting walking alone in the desert holding the camera up. It ends with a shot of Sting with his eyes shut in the back seat of the Jaguar, which is then seen driving off into the distance. After shooting the video, Sting's manager Miles Copeland III approached a music licensing maven, Lloyd Simon, to work with Jaguar on a collaboration, and the auto company featured the video in their prominent television advertisements during the year 2000.

Remixes

Also included on the single releases were club remixes by Victor Calderone. One remixed version of the song was used in an alternative edit of the video, which included more sexually explicit footage.

Track listings

;UK CD1
  1. "Desert Rose " – 3:55
  2. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" – 4:27
  3. "Fragile" – 4:10
  4. "Desert Rose" video
;UK CD2
  1. "Desert Rose " – 4:47
  2. "Desert Rose " – 9:21
  3. "Desert Rose " – 5:21
  4. "Desert Rose " video
;UK 12"
  1. "Desert Rose "
  2. "Desert Rose "
  3. "Desert Rose"
;US CD
  1. "Desert Rose " – 3:54
  2. "Desert Rose " – 4:44
  3. "Brand New Day " – 5:01
  4. "Brand New Day " – 3:54
;Europe CD
  1. "Desert Rose " – 3:54
  2. "Desert Rose " – 9:20
  3. "Desert Rose " – 4:44
  4. "Brand New Day " – 5:01
  5. "Brand New Day" video

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts