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Dark Secret Behind "Every Breath You Take"
21 May
Summary
- The hit song was inspired by stalker-like tendencies.
- Sting wrote the song in a half-hour session.
- It's BMI's most played song in radio history.
Released more than four decades ago, The Police's "Every Breath You Take" continues to be a widely played song, often heard at weddings. However, the track, penned by frontman Sting, carries a dark and sinister meaning that has been largely misinterpreted over the years.
Sting, whose real name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, initially aimed to write a romantic song. Yet, the writing session in Jamaica took a different turn, focusing on the possessive and obsessive tendencies of an individual toward their object of desire, captured by the famous line, "I'll be watching you."
The song, released on May 20, 1983, appears on the band's final studio album, Synchronicity. It quickly achieved international success, hitting No. 1 in multiple countries, including an eight-week run atop the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. This made it the biggest hit of 1983.
"Every Breath You Take" received critical acclaim, winning Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It has since been ranked among Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." In 2019, BMI recognized it as the most played song in radio history, cementing its legacy despite its troubling lyrical origins.
