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Every Breath You Take

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For the compilation album, see Every Breath You Take: The Singles.

"Every Breath You Take" is a song written by Sting and originally performed by The Police. It was released on their 1983 album Synchronicity (see 1983 in music). The single was one of the biggest of 1983, topping the UK charts for four weeks and the Billboard Music Charts (North America) for eight 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 ranks #84 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Origins and songwriting

Originally thought to be about either angels, the government, or parents, the track was in fact 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.|20px|20px|Sting

However, this fact has often gone unnoticed, or is ignored, and hence the song is often taken to be a love song. Some even conjecture that the song is themed after jealousy.

The lyrics are also very similar to the opening lines of a short story by science fiction author Judith Merrill titled "Whoever You Are".

The lines "Every breath you take / every move you make" are also very similar to two lines from the Led Zeppelin song D'yer Mak'er from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy: "Every breath I take, oh oh oh oh oh / Every move I make."

"Every Breath You Take" is played by Sting's double bass, Andy's electric guitar, Stewart's drums, a group of four violinists, and a piano player.

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.

Covers, adaptations, and legacy

The song has been covered by artists including UB40, Julianna Hatfield, Millencolin, and Copeland. "Weird Al" Yankovic included a polka interpretation in his medley "Polkas on 45." Mexican singer Yuridia remade the song as "Siempre Te Amare" for her covers album, Habla el Corazon. Also, a cover version of the song is used extensively in the film "Cat's Eye."

The song was also covered in 2004 by UB40 for the "50 First Dates" Soundtrack.

Beyond covers, the song has also been heavily sampled or adapted. The refrain and other complete sections were the basis for Puff Daddy's collaborative tribute to murdered rapper The Notorious B.I.G., entitled "I'll Be Missing You", recorded with Faith Evans and 112. In a similar vein Hungarian rapper Speak uses the song's hook for his song Sometimes, and the Italian duo Karmah had a 2006 European hit entitled "Just Be Good To Me" which drew heavily on a sample of the song.

Sting himself has been involved in some adaptations of the song. In 1984, Sting performed a version for Spitting Image entitled Every Bomb You Make, which was broadcast again as the finale of the New Year compilation show on January 1 1985. He also performed the song with slightly different lyrics at the Live 8 concert, United Kingdom on July 2 2005, when he sang, "We'll be watching you." referring to the heads of the G8. Also, at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards Sting joined Puff Daddy for a live performance of the song which was a tribute to rapper Notorious B.I.G. .

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.

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.

Personnel

Track listing

7": A&M / AM 117

  1. "Every Breath You Take" - 4:13
  2. "Murder By Numbers" - 4:31

2x7": A&M / AM 117

  1. "Every Breath You Take" - 4:13
  2. "Murder By Numbers" - 4:31

  3. "Man In A Suitcase" (live) - 2:18
  4. "Truth Hits Everyone" (Remix)

  5. rare 2x7" single

Trivia

  • Andy Summers mentions in his book One Train Later that the memorable guitar part he played was the first and only take done for the song. 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.
  • 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 version of the song played by the UK offshore radio station Radio Caroline featured more political lyrics, referring to 'Every life you take' and 'Every Irish wake'.
  • The song featured in a 9/11 documentary by Steven E. Jones.

References

External links



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