Sting, Jimmy Fallon, and the Roots perform 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' remotely, creatively

Jimmy Fallon, Sting, and the Roots sing a Police song — (Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Tonight Show)

Yes, the Police hit "Don't Stand So Close to Me" was inspired by Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and Sting's time as a school teacher, but on its face, it's also a perfect song for our age of social distancing. So on Thursday's Tonight Show, Sting remotely teamed up with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots to perform the song from their various homes, using whatever instruments they had on hand, real and improvised. There are two guitars and a bass but also scissors, shoes, forks, a sousaphone, a pillow, a melodica, and Fallon as a second Sting on backup vocals. The sousaphone, it turns out, makes the whole thing work.

Watch below: Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.