| "Every Breath You Take" | |||||||||||
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| Single by The Police | |||||||||||
| from the album Synchronicity | |||||||||||
| B-side | "Murder By Numbers" | ||||||||||
| Released | May 1983 | ||||||||||
| Format | vinyl record (7") | ||||||||||
| Recorded | December 1982 | ||||||||||
| Genre | New Wave | ||||||||||
| Length | 4:14 | ||||||||||
| Label | A&M - AM 117 | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Sting | ||||||||||
| Producer | The Police, Hugh Padgham | ||||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA)[1] | ||||||||||
| The Police singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting. The single was one of the biggest of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the Billboard Top Tracks chart for nine weeks. Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards of 1984 for "Every Breath You Take". The song ranked #84 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #25 on Billboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.[2]
Contents |
Origins and songwriting
The track was written during the collapse of Sting's marriage to Frances Tomelty; the lyrics are the words of a sinister, controlling character, who is watching "every breath you take; every move you make".
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 realise at the time how sinister it is. I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance and control.
Sting later said he was disconcerted by how many people think the song is more positive than it is. He insists it's about unrequited love (the song was written at the time he and his then wife divorced), about the obsession with the lost lover, the jealousy and surveillance that followed. "One couple told me 'Oh we love that song; it was the main song played at our wedding!' I thought, 'Well, good luck.'"[cite this quote] When asked why he appears angry in the music video Sting told BBC Radio 2, "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have misinterpreted it as being a gentle, little love song."[4]
According to the Back to Mono box-set book, "Every Breath You Take" is said to be influenced by a Gene Pitney song titled "Every Breath I Take". The song is composed in Classical rondo form with its ABACABA structure. The lyrics are very similar to the opening lines of a short story by science fiction author Judith Merrill titled "Whoever You Are". The chorus appears to borrow heavily from the Leo Sayer track, "More Than I Can Say", recorded a couple of years before. As Sting admits to borrowing ideas (see 'So Lonely - 'No woman no cry' link), this is feasible. (Steve Gad) The lyrics "Every breath I take" and "Every move I make", with the replacement of I with you, appear in the song "D'yer Mak'er" by Led Zeppelin.
"Every Breath You Take" is played by Sting on double bass and lead vocals, Andy Summers on electric guitar, piano and backing vocals, Stewart Copeland on drums and backing vocals, and a group of four violinists.
The demo of the song originally featured a synthesizer. While recording, Summers came up with a guitar part inspired by Béla Bartók that would later become a trademark lick, and played it straight through in one take. He was asked to put guitar onto what was to him an already finished song and just played what came to mind. As he finished his take, everyone in the control room burst into applause.[5]
Music video
The song had a music video (directed by duo Godley & Creme) that was praised for its black-and-white cinematography. Both MTV (1999) and VH1 (2002) named it as one of the best music videos ever, placing it 16th and 33rd in their respective top 100 lists. Daniel Pearl won the first MTV cinematography award for his work on the video.[6]
Covers and legacy
The song has been covered by artists including Dilana, UB40, Tina Arena, Juliana Hatfield, Millencolin, and Copeland.
Sting also riffs on the lyrics in his song Love Is the Seventh Wave, singing "Every breath you take/every move you make/every cake you bake/every leg you break..."
In 1999, "Every Breath You Take" was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Century by BMI.[7][8] In 2003, VH1 ranked the song the #2 greatest Break-up song of all time. And also as of 2003, Sting was still taking in an average of $2000 per day in royalties for the then 20-year-old song "Every Breath You Take."[9]
In October 2007, Sting was awarded a Million-Air certificate for 9 million airplays of "Every Breath You Take" at the prestigious BMI Awards show in London, England with only Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" a close second at 8 million air plays.[10]
This song was also featured by in October 2008 Nintendo music simulation game, Wii Music.
The song's opening riff formed the basis for the Puff Daddy hit, I'll Be Missing You, a tribute to slain rapper The Notorious B.I.G.. When the song was played at that year's MTV Video Awards, Sting joined in alongside Puff Daddy and Faith Evans.
Personnel
- Sting - Lead and backing vocals, Double bass
- Andy Summers - Electric guitar, Piano
- Stewart Copeland - Drums
Track listing
7": A&M / AM 117
- "Every Breath You Take" - 4:13
- "Murder By Numbers" - 4:31
2x7": A&M / AM 117
- "Every Breath You Take" - 4:13
- "Murder By Numbers" - 4:31
- "Man In A Suitcase" (live) - 2:18
- "Truth Hits Everyone" (Remix)
- rare 2x7" single
See also
References
- ^ RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - The Police Singles, Retrieved 2009-07-20
- ^ "The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs". Billboard. 2008-09-20. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-30.shtml. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- ^ "Interview Date: May 1993". http://www.sting.com/news/interview.php?uid=1527.
- ^ "Song Library: Every Breath You Take". Sold on Song. BBC Radio 2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/indepth/everybreathyoutake.shtml. Retrieved 2009-07-08. (Spoken in the second Sting audio clip.)
- ^ Summers, Andy (2006). One Train Later: A Memoir, Thomas Dunne Books, pp. 323-324.
- ^ Fisher, Bob. "A Conversation with Daniel Pearl". International Cinematographers Guild. http://www.cameraguild.com/interviews/chat_pearl/pearl_interview.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
- ^ Top 100 Songs of the Century
- ^ Complete list of Top 100 Songs
- ^ "CBS - 60 Minutes II 'Sting: All This Time'". http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/19/60II/main589570.shtml.
- ^ 2007 BMI London Awards
External links
| Preceded by "Candy Girl" by New Edition |
UK number-one single May 29, 1983 |
Succeeded by "Baby Jane" by Rod Stewart |
| Preceded by "Flashdance... What a Feeling" by Irene Cara |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single July 9, 1983 - August 27, 1983 |
Succeeded by "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics |
| Preceded by "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single of the year 1983 |
Succeeded by "When Doves Cry" by Prince |
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