"All This Time" is a song by English musician

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

. It was released as the first single from his third studio album, ''

The Soul Cages ''The Soul Cages'' is the third full-length studio album by English musician Sting. Released on 21 January 1991, it became Sting's second No. 1 album in the United Kingdom. It spawned four singles: " All This Time", " Mad About You", "The S ...

'' (1991), on 31 December 1990 by

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

. The song was a chart success, especially in North America, reaching 5 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, topping the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

and

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

charts, and peaking at number one on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart.

Lyrics

The lyrics provide a reference to the death of Sting's father, symbolized by the image of a young boy, Billy, who, at the death of his father, wishes to bury him at sea instead of going through the Catholic rites: Despite the dark lyrics, the uptempo tune of the song foils their macabre undertone: The imaginary character, Billy, is also referred to in the lyrics to the opening song on ''The Soul Cages'', "Island Of Souls".

Music video

The music video depicts the wry, black humour of the song and is set aboard a cruise ship that constantly tilts from side to side. It features

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan to actress Tippi Hedren, she was raised mainly in Los Angeles, where she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School at age 16. In 1975, 17-year-old ...

as a manicurist and Sting's wife

Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress, director, and film producer. Early life and family Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was ...

dressed as a French maid, and recreates the overcrowded stateroom scene from the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

' 1935 film '' A Night at the Opera''. As Sting's stateroom slowly fills with people, the two priests mentioned in the lyrics emerge from a bathtub, to the terror of a boy who is using it at the time, and the antics on the ship prompt a man on a dock to abandon his effort to drown himself and come aboard instead. The last verse is punctuated by a vaudeville performer attempting to do a dance routine while the spotlight keeps moving away from him; he finally gets fed up and storms off the stage. At the end of the video, when the priests enter the room, Sting throws his luggage out of the stateroom's porthole, jumps after it, and sinks slowly into the ocean as a

lifebuoy A lifebuoy or life ring, among many other names (see § Other names), is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activat ...

is thrown toward him.

Performances

"All This Time" opened the set on ''The Soul Cages'' tour. After this, the song was not performed again until 2000 during the Brand New Day tour. The song lent its name to the '' ...All This Time'' live album which was recorded in September 2001 at Sting's villa in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

Track listings

* 7-inch and cassette single # "All This Time" # "I Miss You Kate" (instrumental) * 12-inch and CD single # "All This Time" # "I Miss You Kate" (instrumental) # "

King of Pain "King of Pain" is a song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their fifth and final studio album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by the band's lead singer and bassist Sting as a post-separation song from his w ...

" (live) * Japanese maxi-CD single # "All This Time" (edit) # "King of Pain" (live) # " We'll Be Together" (extended mix) # " Someone to Watch Over Me" # "I Miss You Kate"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:All This Time (Sting Song) 1990 singles 1990 songs A&M Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham Songs written by Sting (musician) Sting (musician) songs