"Message in a Bottle" is a song by English rock band the Police. It was released as the lead single from their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979). Written by the band's lead singer and bassist Sting, the song is ostensibly about a story of a castaway on an island, who sends out a message in a bottle to seek love. A year later, he has not received any sort of response, and despairs, thinking he is destined to be alone. The next day, he sees "a hundred billion bottles" on the shore, finding out that there are more people like him out there. Over the course of the song, Sting mentions sending an S.O.S. 31 times. The song was the first of their five UK number one singles. Rolling Stone ranked it number 65 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Composition The song exemplifies the reggae rock/new wave style of early Police. It is composed in the key of C minor with a chord progression of C#m9-Amaj9-B7-F#m. According to the band's guitarist, Andy Summers, Sting had initially intended the guitar riff that "Message in a Bottle" is centred around for a different song. Summers said to L'Historia Bandidio in 1981: "Sting had that riff for a while, but there was another tune with it originally. He'd been fiddling about with it during our first American tour. Finally, he rearranged the riff slightly and came up with the song." Summers came up with, as Sting described, "lovely arpeggiated shiver" during the break prior to the third verse. Sting praised this addition saying, "He'd [Summers] do that – the song would be quite raw and he'd just add these lovely colours." The riff in its final form is built of multiple overdubbed guitar parts, played by Summers. Following the main progression of the song, one part features Summers playing a three note figure featuring the root, fifth, and ninth of each chord in succession. A second guitar part plays the identical rhythm with different harmony notes, adding minor or major thirds to each chord, as well as additional extensions such as eleventh and thirteenth notes. The song was recorded at Surrey Sound Studios as part of the sessions for the Reggatta de Blanc album. Stewart Copeland's drumming, praised as his "finest drum track" by Summers, was "overdubbed [from] about six different parts." Cash Box