Sumner's Tales: Sting talks...

"On 'Seven Days', we wanted to do something in 5/4 time with a kind of reggae beat and chords that come out of a Broadway show. It was a hybrid and the fun was in trying to make sense of this three-legged animal with two heads. I'm working with musicians I have to keep challenging and make demands on them by asking them to do things that aren't natural."
Rock World, 3/93

"'Seven Days' is just a piece of fun. I wanted to write a song in 5/4. I'd never written in 5/4 before, and it really begged to be played with in a frivolous way. It would be hard to do anything very ponderous in 5/4. So I wrote this scenario about being bullied into a relationship by a bigger rival. It's a strange single, but it did fairly well. People liked it because it was unusual. My philosophy's always been to have a hit that's against the odds rather than designed to be a hit: something that sticks out like a sore thumb on the radio and is a hit because of that, rather than because it just obeyed all the rules. When I've had hits like that - 'Russians' was a case in point - it's very satisfying."
Independent On Sunday, 11/94

On the suggestion that the song has a Broadway show feel to it...
"I spent some time on Broadway and had a great time, in fact one of the best times in my life was being there in the city, walking to work every day, and the old cliché 'There are no people like show people' is right. They were great. I suppose one of the first records I ever listened to was West Side Story, which is an incredibly sophisticated piece of music melodically and lyrically. 'Seven Days' is written in 5/4 and I suppose it has that strange hybrid of rhythmic complexity. It's a pretty frivolous song, a sort of Charles Atlas story; having to face a neanderthal brute for the hand of his loved one. And I think he does, I think he wins in the end."
'Ten Summoner's Tales' Promotional Interview Disc, '93

'Seven Days' appeared on the 1993 album, 'Ten Summoner's Tales'. A 'Radio Edit' of the song was released as a single in April of that year and reached the #25 spot. A live favourite, the song has appeared in Sting's solo set consistently since its release. A live version of the song from a 1999 Universal Ampitheatre show can be found as a bonus track on the 'After The Rain Has Fallen' CD single. The B-side, 'January Stars' is an odd track from the 'Ten Summoner's Tales' era with a rather split personality. The same song appeared on the album under the title 'Everybody Laughed But You' only with different lyrics. The chord structure also makes a sneaky re-appearance in 1999's 'End Of The Game'. Sting has made no secret that if has a good idea he has no problem recycling it, and this must be the perfect example. 'January Stars' also appeared on a French two track CD single with 'She's Too Good For Me'. The UK CD single releases included some 'Soul Cages' era tracks and a version of Bill Wither's classic 'Ain't No Sunshine' that were recorded at a one-off acoustic show at the tiny Buddle Arts Centre in Wallsend in April 1991.