OMEGAMAN (for my book)

[giovanni]

Hey gang, the book I'm writing about the meaning of the lyrics of The Police and Sting solo career is going very well; I'm definitely satisfied, and the publisher, reading chapter by chapter while I write them, is absolutely happy about it; I have to say that reading carefully every single line of each song, and searching deeply in the meaning of everything, well, it's giving me way much more than I expected about writing it.
As for some other songs, a few ones need some more information and maybe some of you may help me; this time it's OMEGAMAN by Andy Summers; do you think he refers to the comics that were released for the first time in 1981? Maybe even those super-heroes were 'tired' of the society they were living in? Hmmm, I don't know, this is just a mere intepretation as I never read anything about the real meaning of this song, but checking the whole concept of the album where Sting talks about the human condition and how the spirituality may be a solution to survive (just to put it in a few words), the intrepretation that I can get from the lyrics could fit with the rest of the tracklist.
Anyway, any help is really appreciated.
'Ghost' is really a wonderful album, maybe the one I'm more attached to, and the only tour I have seen with my eyes back in 1982 in Milano. What a show, what a day, what a band, what a record!

[Dietmar]

don't know about the comic
but don't forget the Charlton Heston movie
I've recently watched it to see how it compares to "I Am Legend"
as usual: the book is better !

[zilboy]

There's a brief line in one of the Police books (either La Historia Bandido or A Visual Documentary By Miles) where Andy states that he was thinking about John Lennon.

[conroy]

I'm with Dietmar, I think Omegaman owes more to the Heston movie than the comic. I read the comic series when it came out in the mid-80s (I think it debuted in 1983). Their first appearance was in a 1981 Green Lantern comic at about the time that the Police were recording Ghosts in the Machine but I think that is just a pure coincidence. Thematically, the song has little to do with the comic series except that the comic series took place in outer space and the song mentions the last frontier which is space travel and the Omega Men were kind of rebels fighting a repressive regime. The song Omegaman seems to have suicidal undertones (the razor's edge of night cutting into sleep as the subject discusses making a leap and later talking about a paper knife when reaching for a perfect life). Ultimately, I think the song is about loneliness despite being famous and breaking free from the isolation that fame can bring.

[Susan]

Ultimately, I think the song is about loneliness despite being famous and breaking free from the isolation that fame can bring.

This is one of my favorite Police songs, especially from the Ghost album.

I left out the rest of Conroy's comment because I can't add to the comic book/Heston part of it, but I totally agree with "about loneliness despite being famous and breaking free from the isloation that fame can bring." I also think Andy may have been influenced by emerging technologies--the lines "the sky's alive with turned on television sets/I walk the streets and seek another vision yet" always appealed to me. Remember, this was recorded at the dawn of cable/satellite TV becoming readily available, even MTV's early logo shows an astronaut planting the MTV flag on the moon...all of these images also have an element of isolation which I could elaborate upon at great length but I sense you want quick thoughts rather than a 500-word essay.

As an aside, when we saw Andy speak in December 2010 in Washington DC one of the parts that really stuck with me was when he was asked about film cameras vs. digital and he talked about how he dislikes digital. I forget exactly what he said (if I heard it again, cough cough, excuse me, ahem) I could tell you the exact wording, but he disliked not having a typical viewfinder and having something in between your eye and the subject...and he said something about disliking having to fiddle with the controls.

Finally, my iTunes played "Masoko Tanga" next. Good luck with that one, Gio (and do check out the "misheard lyrics" version on YouTube!)

[animal]

The song Omegaman seems to have suicidal undertones (the razor's edge of night cutting into sleep as the subject discusses making a leap and later talking about a paper knife when reaching for a perfect life). Ultimately, I think the song is about loneliness despite being famous and breaking free from the isolation that fame can bring.

Also remembering from One Train Later the Ghost Sessions were recorded when Andy was going through his marriage breakup, so I wonder if some of those overtones carried into his writings.

[smax]

love this tune. i love the urgency of it, the bv's, the intro, the police-y outro.. the way the words scan in the verses is brll.

and great words. nice happy theme, then?!

[Horacio]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVZllX1qNFs

[English-lion]

When I first saw that symbol I wanted to know what it meant. So I looked it up in the dictionary Omega the "last"letter of the Greek alphabet ... : the extreme or final part : end

I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. — Jesus, The Bible

And then it goes on to tell you that the symbol was used in chemistry physics mathematics all that scientific stuff that is all over my head
so the meaning of this song to me meant
All this technology around Andy, will it take something away from him? He's the Last man to conform Andy will not be assimilated

[luddite lady]

Like E-L said, omega means last. And like others have said, I think the song is about isolation and loneliness. The narrator feels like the last, only man alive. He doesn't connect with anyone in the song. He only hears screams and sees images from TV sets (an ultimately isolating technology). I agree with others, too, about this being a reflection of Andy's own feelings of isolation during this very difficult period in his life.
The more I think about it, the more I'm surprised and grateful that all three members of The Police made it through their super stardom alive. And that they survived the reunion tour is mini-miracle number two.

[P-LOVE]

My recollection from an old interview with Andy is that he wrote the song following the the death of John Lennon and that is who he is referring to in the song. Hope this helps.

[P-LOVE]

Oops my bad. This was already posted and reminded me of where I read it.

[63falcon]

This song definitely encapsulted my Freshman year at VPI (Va Tech to the non-Virginians out there). I am a realistic optimist by nature, but definitely touched by the nihilistic spirit of the late 70's/early 80's that was floating around, at least in my neck of the woods. I knew I was going to switch majors after 1st quarter, but had to soldier on in the one I entered school w/ until Summer. This was also a time period when high school friends and I were becoming less close and losing touch, along w/ some of the folks I initially got to know at VPI as I began to switch course of studies, etc... There would be times at night while walking thru Upper Quad, listening to this song, and seeing all the separate, lit windows of the individual silent dorm rooms (coold weather time) as I passed by that left an enduring "outside looking on" perspective which has never left my memories of the first two years at Univ.. However, the only time I jumped off of anything was when I was learning to rappel -abseil for all the UK folks-while starting to rock climb! But definitely, windows lit as tho' a hundred TV screens right on the edge of the darkness covering the sidewalk next to those buildings-the first verse of Omegaman summed that sense for me then and never fails to bring that all back to this day whenever I hear it.
So, not really an exposition on what this could have meant to AndyS. Just how the lyrics and the aural experience of this song seemed to overlay its/the song's story onto my own at the time.
Please keep us updated on the book, Gio! Thanks.