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For the album, see Every Breath You Take: The Singles.
| "Every Breath You Take" | |||||||||||
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| Single by The Police | |||||||||||
| from the album Synchronicity | |||||||||||
| B-side | "Murder by Numbers" | ||||||||||
| Released | 20 May 1983 | ||||||||||
| Format | Vinyl record (7") | ||||||||||
| Recorded | December 1982 | ||||||||||
| Genre | New Wave, pop rock | ||||||||||
| Length | 4:14 | ||||||||||
| Label | A&M - AM 117 | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Sting | ||||||||||
| Producer | The Police, Hugh Padgham | ||||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA,[1] BPI) | ||||||||||
| The Police singles chronology | |||||||||||
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Contents |
Origins and songwriting
The lyrics are the words of a character of dubious nature, who is watching "every breath you take; every move you make".Sting later said he was disconcerted by how many people think the song is more positive than it is. He insists it's about the obsession with a lost lover, the jealousy and surveillance that follows. "One couple told me 'Oh we love that song; it was the main song played at our wedding!' I thought, 'Well, good luck.'"[5] 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 actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle, little love song."[6]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.
According to the Back to Mono box-set book, "Every Breath You Take" is influenced by a Gene Pitney song titled "Every Breath I Take". The song's structure is a variation on the Classical rondo form with its AABACABA structure, a form rarely found in modern popular music.
The demo of the song was recorded in an eight track suite in North London's Utopia studios and featured Sting singing over a Hammond organ.[7] 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 a simple backing track of bass, drums, and a single vocal, with Sting offering no directive beyond "make it your own."[8]
The recording process was fraught with difficulties as personal tensions between the band members, particularly Sting and Stewart Copeland, came to the fore.[7] Producer Hugh Padgham claimed that by the time of the recording sessions, Sting and Copeland "hated each other", with verbal and physical fights in the studio common.[7] The tensions almost led to the recording sessions being cancelled until a meeting involving the band and the group's manager, Miles Copeland, resulted in an agreement to continue.[7] The drum track was largely created through separate overdubs of each percussive instrument, with the main backbeat created by simultaneously playing a snare and a gong drum.[7] Keyboard parts were added from Roland guitar synthesisers, a Prophet-5 and an Oberheim synthesiser.[7] The single-note piano in the middle eight was recommended by Padgham, inspired by similar work that he had done with the group XTC.[7]
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.[9]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 Everybody '83" -3:34
- rare 2x7" single
Personnel
- Sting – lead and backing vocals, electric bass
- Andy Summers – electric guitar, piano and keyboards
- Stewart Copeland – drums
Charts and sales
Peak positions
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Certifications
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Legacy
In 1999, "Every Breath You Take" was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Century by BMI.[26][27] 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."[28]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.[29]
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