If I Ever Lose My Faith in You

The song, in the key of A major, is played in swing time. According to Sting, the song was written on the piano, and contains a flattened fifth in the song's intro,{{efn|The song begins with a chromatic sequence up from the minor third (C) of A to the flat 5th (E♭), with A minor, A major (C♯), A suspended 4th (D), and A flattened 5th (E♭) chords.}} which he says was banned in the churches due to its dissonant sound:

{{blockquote|It starts off with a flattened fifth. A flat five is an interesting chord because it was banned by the church. It's called a tri-tone, and it was banned by the church – it was the devil's music. Blues music is based on the tri-tone, and in sacred music from the middle-ages, the Pope banned the tri-tone, the flattened fifth. It's disconcerting. It puts you ill at ease. So we start that way so that you think it's been going on for a while, but it hasn't.}}

The "You" in the song's title is not identified by Sting, as he felt it was important not to point out what it is specifically so that the listeners could connect more with the song:

{{blockquote|The song is in two distinct parts. The first part is about the things I've lost faith in. It's quite easy to be precise about the things I've lost faith in – politics, media, science, technology, the things that everybody has, and yet I along with most other people have a great deal of hope, and a feeling that things will and can get better. So what do we place our faith in I can't define that as easily as I can define what I don't believe in anymore. So I haven't defined it, I've just said if I ever lose my faith in you, and "You" could be my producer, it could be faith in God, it could be faith in myself, or it could be faith in romantic love. It could be all of those things, I don't define it. I think it's important not to define it, because once you can define something it evaporates. I think it's important in this day and age when we are dictated to by music television what a particular song is about, that the old ambiguity that songs had can be retained.{{cite web|title=Sting.com: Discography : If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, CD digipak|url=https://www.sting.com/discography/album/223/Singles|website=www.sting.com|access-date=30 October 2020}}}}

Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song three out of five, writing, "Less gloomy and more immediate commercial than some of his solo material, though it won't hit the high numbers."{{cite magazine|first=Alan|last=Jones|title=Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles|magazine=Music Week|date=6 February 1993|page=10|accessdate=31 January 2023|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-02-06.pdf}} In his review of the Ten Summoner's Tales album, Andrew Collins from Select said, "The manifesto pension-plan-advert love anthem 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You' is typical of this down-to-earthness."{{cite magazine|first=Andrew|last=Collins|url=https://selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk/showpage.php?file=wp-content/uploads/2013/03/albums32.jpg|title=Reviews: New Albums|work=Select|date=April 1993|page=80|access-date=1 January 2025|author-link=Andrew Collins (broadcaster)}}

After the dark vision presented on the album The Soul Cages, Sting wanted to "make a pop record in the truest sense" stating, "Being on the rebound from that very dark record, this time I wanted to make one for the fun of it, the craft of it – to engage the band musically."[https://www.deseret.com/1993/4/9/19041177/sumner-s-tales-sting-ten-summoner-s-tales-a-m Deseret News. "SUMNER’S TALES: STING; “TEN SUMMONER’S TALES”" April 9, 1993.]

Sting was surprised by how popular the song became, stating: "I got a prize for this. It was the most played record on American radio in 1993, which kind of surprised me. But I suppose it captured a mood. We've lost faith in a lot of institutions, our government, our churches – most things. And yet we still maintain a sense of hope about the future."[https://kool1079.com/ixp/295/p/sting-if-i-ever-lose-my-faith-in-you/ Kool 1079. " How Sting Changed Gears With 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You'" retrieved February 4, 0223.]

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• UK CD1{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=UK CD1 liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=AMCD 0172, 580 175-2}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
2. "All This Time" (unplugged)
3. "Mad About You" (unplugged)
4. "Every Breath You Take" (unplugged)

• UK CD2{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=UK CD2 liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=AMCDR 0172, 580 173-2}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
2. "Message in a Bottle" (unplugged)
3. "Tea in the Sahara" (unplugged)
4. "Walking on the Moon" (unplugged)

• UK 7-inch and cassette single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=UK 7-inch single sleeve|publisher=A&M Records|id=AM 0172, 580 172-7}}{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=UK cassette single sleeve|publisher=A&M Records|id=AMMC 0172, 580 172-4}}
• European CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=580 172-2}}
• Australian cassette single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=Australian cassette single sleeve|publisher=A&M Records|id=580 190-4}}
• Japanese mini-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=Japanese mini-CD single liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=PODM-1008}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:29
2. "Every Breath You Take" (unplugged) – 5:06

• European maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=European maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=580 201-2}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" – 4:29
2. "Every Breath You Take" (unplugged) – 5:06
3. "All This Time" (unplugged) – 5:20

{{col-2}}

• US maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=US maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=31458 0111 2}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (LP version) – 4:29
2. "Everybody Laughed but You" – 3:51
3. "January Stars" – 3:50
4. "We Work the Black Seam (1993)" – 6:08

• US cassette single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=US cassette single cassette notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=31458 0111 4}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (LP version) – 4:29
2. "All This Time" (unplugged) – 5:20

• Australian CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=Australian CD single liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=580 191-2}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
2. "Every Breath You Take" (unplugged)
3. "Message in a Bottle" (unplugged)
4. "All This Time" (unplugged)

• Japanese maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=If I Ever Lose My Faith in You|others=Sting|year=1993|type=Japanese maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=A&M Records|id=POCM-1022}}

1. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
2. "All This Time" (unplugged)
3. "Mad About You" (unplugged)
4. "Every Breath You Take" (unplugged)

{{col-end}}

• Sting – bass, vocals, guitar, harmonica; producer on track 1
• Dominic Miller – guitars
• David Sancious – keyboards; piano on tracks 2-4
• Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
• Vinx – percussion and backing vocals on tracks 2-4
• Hugh Padgham – producer on track 1
• Joel Gallen – executive producer on tracks 2-4
• Alex Coletti – producer on tracks 2-4

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

Jazzist Greg Adams composed an instrumental cover of the song, which was featured on his 2006 album, Cool to the Touch.{{Cite web |title=Cool To The Touch {{!}} Greg Adams Music {{!}} Greg Adams |url=https://gregadamsmusic.com/gamwp/release/cool-to-the-touch/ |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=Greg Adams Music |language=en-US}} In 2009, trumpeter Chris Botti covered the song featuring Sting on vocals. The song was released from the album Chris Botti in Boston.{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1446624|pure_url=yes}}|title=Chris Botti in Boston Overview|work=Allmusic.com}}{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/magazine/reviews/albums/e3i81c348259fac112e2ffbb14b18f9a201|title=Chris Botti in Boston|magazine=Billboard.biz|access-date=18 June 2010|archive-date=28 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928205130/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/magazine/reviews/albums/e3i81c348259fac112e2ffbb14b18f9a201|url-status=dead}} American singer Lady Gaga also performed the song at the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors, where Sting was an honouree.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/see-bruce-springsteen-lady-gaga-bruno-mars-honor-sting-at-kennedy-center-233329/|title=See Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars Honor Sting|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=31 December 2014}} American heavy metal band Disturbed released a cover of "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" in 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/disturbed-to-release-cover-of-stings-if-i-ever-lose-my-faith-in-you/|title=DISTURBED To Release Cover Of STING's 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You'|website=Blabbermouth|date =11 September 2020}} "We have loved this song for a long time, and even though it was released in 1993, it seems strangely applicable to today's world," stated the band. "The song is about losing faith, and might initially sound pessimistic, but it's about the importance and power of personal relationships, and how they can save you and provide solace in an increasingly confusing world."[https://sports.yahoo.com/disturbed-cover-sting-ever-lose-141530042.html Yahoo News. "Disturbed Cover Sting's 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You'" by Spencer Kaufman. 11 September 2020.]

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Sting}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"

|titlestyle = background: lightblue

|list1 =

{{Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance}}

{{Ivor Novello Best Song}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1992 songs

Category:1993 singles

Category:A&M Records singles

Category:Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham

Category:Songs written by Sting (musician)

Category:Sting (musician) songs