Desert Rose

The story behind

Sting wrote Desert Rose with Cheb Rabah, an Algerian composer, and the song features Cheb Mami, a raï singer. The song was released on the album Brand New Day, in 1999. Sting recorded it after listening to a Mami album and seeing him live. He asked him to improvise over his melody, and Mami responded with lyrics in Arabic. Sting didn't understand what he was singing, but in the end he discovered that it was also about longing. The song starts in Arabic, something rare in Western pop. It was a single from the album, and became one of the most notable songs. The band Jaguar used the song's video in their advertisements, which helped it to be heard more. Sting didn't want them to use it out of fear of losing his environmental support, but in the end he felt happy with the result.