“I think it’s a nasty little song, really rather evil. It’s about jealousy and surveillance and ownership,” Sting famously declared in 1983. At the time, The Police were riding the wave of global success, their “nasty little song” dominating the Billboard charts for two solid months and catapulting them to the status of the world’s biggest band. However, this very song, “Every Breath You Take song”, also foreshadowed their imminent breakup, a stark contrast to the celebratory heights they had reached.
From Breakdown to Breakout Hit: The Genesis of “Every Breath You Take Song”
Born from personal turmoil, “Every Breath You Take” emerged in 1982 during what Sting described as a “mental breakdown,” coinciding with the painful unraveling of his first marriage. Musically, it was a departure for The Police, leaning towards a more conventional structure that Sting himself characterized as “generic” and “rule-obeying.” Yet, within this seemingly simple framework lay a complex and unsettling narrative.
Lyrically, Sting adopts the persona of a possessive observer, a stalker or voyeur lurking in the shadows. “Can’t you see you belong to me?” he croons in his signature husky voice, the possessiveness underscored by the inviting thrum of his bassline. Andy Summers’ guitar work, drawing inspiration from Béla Bartók, adds a layer of deceptive warmth, a sonic caress that belies the song’s darker undercurrent. Stewart Copeland, constrained in his typically dynamic drumming, lays down a relentlessly steady beat, contributing to the song’s simultaneously suffocating and embracing atmosphere. “Every Breath You Take song” becomes an exercise in sonic manipulation, relentlessly catchy in its pursuit of the listener’s complete attention.
Sting himself acknowledged the duality within the song, stating that the interplay of light and darkness mirrored his own life at the time, navigating the highs of professional triumph against the lows of personal heartbreak. But beyond personal reflection, “Every Breath You Take song,” with its themes of “jealousy and surveillance and ownership,” also served as a potent metaphor for the turbulent internal dynamics of The Police.
“Every Breath You Take Song” as a Reflection of Band Tensions
From their inception in 1977, The Police were a volatile mix of strong personalities constantly vying for dominance. Even the band’s name, as Sting recounts in his memoir Broken Music, was a source of early friction. This inherent tension reached a boiling point during the creation of Synchronicity, the album that would ultimately be their swan song, with “Every Breath You Take” as its lead single.
Copeland and Summers had grown increasingly resentful of Sting’s tight grip on the songwriting process, leading to a particularly toxic relationship between the drummer and the frontman. The strained atmosphere in the studio during the recording of “Every Breath You Take song” was palpable. Unable to tolerate each other’s presence, Copeland would lay down drum tracks in the morning, only to have Sting erase them in the afternoon, a symbolic battle played out through music.
Despite the internal strife, or perhaps fueled by it, “Every Breath You Take” became their biggest hit upon its release in May 1983. The song’s popularity was further amplified by its visually striking black-and-white music video, directed by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme of 10CC fame, renowned for their innovative promos during the early MTV era. Synchronicity followed in June, achieving phenomenal success, selling over 8 million copies in the US alone. Yet, the ensuing tour marked the end of the road for The Police. By 1984, the trio had irrevocably disbanded, their musical force effectively extinguished despite later reunions. “Every Breath You Take song,” in a bittersweet twist, became both their zenith and their epitaph.
The Enduring Misinterpretation and Sting’s “Antidote”
The ambiguity inherent in “Every Breath You Take song” extends to its reception. Despite Sting’s intention, countless couples have embraced it as a romantic anthem, a testament to unwavering love and commitment. Wedding vows have been exchanged to the soundtrack of Sting’s unsettling lyrics, and countless aisles have been walked to the very drumbeat that infuriated Copeland.
Sting has expressed amusement at this widespread misinterpretation. However, the song’s pervasive misreading also prompted him to create what he termed an “antidote” to The Police’s signature hit, as if attempting to break a spell cast by “Every Breath You Take song”. This antidote arrived in the form of “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” released on his 1985 solo debut, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. A musically looser and more optimistic piece, it reflected Sting’s newfound creative freedom post-Police. However, it lacked the haunting memorability of its predecessor.
In 1997, “Every Breath You Take song” experienced a resurgence when rapper Puff Daddy (now Diddy) sampled it for “I’ll Be Missing You,” his poignant tribute to the late Biggie Smalls. This reimagining, like the original, became a massive hit. Andy Summers, hearing his iconic guitar riff replicated verbatim, wryly labeled it “the major rip-off of all time.” Sting, however, who even performed the rap ballad with Puff Daddy at an awards ceremony, adopted a more magnanimous stance. As the owner of the song’s publishing rights, he reaped significant financial rewards from the sample.
Yet, even the song’s creator isn’t immune to its peculiar “malediction.” In 2022, Sting, upon receiving the Polar Music Prize in Sweden, was subjected to a rendition of “Every Breath You Take song” by the esteemed guitarist and singer-songwriter José Feliciano. The official video captures Sting’s visible discomfort as Feliciano’s performance veered into a discordant and warbling interpretation. Furrowed brows, closed eyes, and a deep breath – Sting’s reaction spoke volumes. In that moment, he seemed to embody anyone’s desire to escape the clutches of his own “really rather evil” song, even when performed in his honor.
“Every Breath You Take song” remains a complex and contradictory piece of music history. A global phenomenon born from personal and professional turmoil, it is a song about surveillance mistaken for a love song, a career peak that signaled a band’s end, and a “nasty little song” that continues to captivate and confound decades later.
