Sting sang this as a duet with the Algerian singer Cheb Mami, who was very popular in France and brought the Rai style of folk music to an international audience. Sting brought him in to make the song sound more authentic, and the collaboration introduced Mami to a Western audience. Mami made news in 2005 when he was accused of abducting his former girlfriend and trying to force an abortion on her because he was ashamed to have an illegitimate child. The abortion attempt failed, and the woman later gave birth to a girl. Mami was sentenced to five years in prison by a French court.
Cheb Mami wrote some of the lyrics in Arabic. Sting did not know what they meant, but they happened to follow the same theme as Sting's English lyrics - "longing." Sting noted in Lyrics By Sting: "Mami started to improvise an intoxicating sliding melisma, reminiscent of an Islamic call to prayer. Instantly, it sounded authentic and galvanizing. He then sang the verse I commissioned in Arabic. His phrases matched the gait of the melody as perfectly as a horse and rider."
Sting performed this with Mami at the 2000 Grammys.
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