Loud and Clear: The Police: “Message in a Bottle”

The Police’s 1979 hit, “Message in a Bottle” is their reggae-pop-rock take on isolation and alienation. It’s the (allegorical) story of a castaway on an island who sends out a communication, an “S.O.S. to the world,” and in return receives a uniquely poetic form of salvation.

The lead singer, Sting goes on to tell about how “Love can mend your life/But love can break your heart.” Yet one morning after more than of year of solitude, the castaway wakes to find “a hundred billion bottles/washed up on the shore/Seems I’m not alone at being alone/a hundred billion castaways/looking for a home.” Seemingly it’s validation and a sense of camaraderie between the faceless message writers that serve as (spiritual) rescue.