"Spirits in the Material World" is a song by rock trio The Police, written by Sting. It is the opening track for their 1981 album Ghost in the Machine. The song features bass, guitar, synthesizer, drums, saxophone, and vocals. It has a Jamaican Ska beat which changes to a swaggering rock beat in the chorus. It was released as a single in 1981 and reached No. 12 in the United Kingdom and No. 11 in the US in early 1982.