The Police’s hit single Every Breath You Take is widely thought of as a love song, but its lyrics are actually pretty sinister and creepy, according to singer, Sting
Music lovers often find themselves humming along to catchy, seemingly innocent tunes without giving much thought to the lyrics.
For years you can be singing along because you like the arrangement and harmonies. Then, thanks to modern technology, you’ll think to yourself, “ooh I fancy listening to (insert beloved track here)” so type it into your search engine. As well as links to your childhood favourite song on streaming platforms, you’re often invariably face-to-face with lyrics. And seeing them in writing can change your perception of a tune forever.
Suddenly the innocent little sing-alongs take a much darker turn, a song like – for example – Every Breath You Take by The Police.
Well that’s just classic love song, right? I mean loads of people have used it as their wedding song. They’ll gaze into each other’s eyes and earnestly recite the lyrics to a song about… stalking.
That’s right one of the best-selling and most loved tracks of all time has a much darker meaning, than simply gazing at your other half… a lot.
Sting penned the song in 1982, following his split from Frances Tomelty and the start of his relationship with Trudie Styler.
In 2006, The Independent reported: “The problem was, he was already married to actress Frances Tomelty, who just happened to be Trudie’s best friend (Sting and Frances lived next door to Trudie in Bayswater). The affair was widely condemned.”
To escape from the public eye, Sting retreated in the Caribbean where he started writing the sinister song.
Sting later revealed: “I woke up in the middle of the night with that line in my head, sat down at the piano and had written it in half an hour. The tune itself is generic, an aggregate of hundreds of others, but the words are interesting.
“It sounds like a comforting love song. I didn’t realize at the time how sinister it is. I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance and control.”
Despite being commonly mistaken as a romantic ballad, the lyrics actually depict a controlling lover who is obsessively watching “every breath you take; every move you make.”
Sting later expressed his surprise at how many people interpret it as a positive song. He clarified that it’s about the obsession with a lost lover, and the ensuing jealousy.
He said: “One couple told me ‘Oh we love that song; it was the main song played at our wedding!’ I thought, ‘Well, good luck’.
“I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it’s quite the opposite.”
Despite its lack of positivity, in 2019, Sting received a BMI Award for his ditty, after it became the most played song in radio history.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
