The Soul Cages is the third studio album released by Sting. It includes nine tracks and was released in 1991. It became his second #1 album in the UK.

The Soul Cages is a concept album focused on the death of his father. Sting has said in interviews that he developed a writer's block shortly after his father's death. This episode lasted several years and he was unable to write any songs at all. The only way he was able to overcome this affliction was to deal with the death of his father through his music. The first song written for The Soul Cages was "Why Should I Cry for You?" and Sting has stated the rest of the album flowed quite easily after that first hurdle was overcome. Most of the songs have motifs related to sailing or the seas (Sting's father, according to Sting's autobiography Broken Music, had always regretted not becoming a sailor). There are also references to Newcastle, the part of England where Sting grew up.

While a relatively little-known album to casual fans, with a similar lack of popularity to 1996's Mercury Falling, this personal album spawned four singles, "All This Time", "Why Should I Cry For You?", "Mad About You", and "The Soul Cages". The latter won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.