Every Breath You Take Explained Sting

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  • Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
  • Let's face it, getting personal never hurt a record's sales.
    If anything, it's the opposite.
    Every Breath You Take, written by Sting after the breakup of his first marriage, is one of the biggest ballads ever.
    Hear Sting talk about the song's meaning and songwriting process in this 2011 clip from BBC Two's Secrets of the Pop Song
    Did you know? 'Every Breath You Take' started a 4-week No. 1 run on the UK singles chart #OnThisDay in 1983! 🏆
    Every Breath You Take Explained
    Excerpt from BBC Two's - Secrets of the Pop Song UK S01EP01

Комментарии • 80

  • @SuperAngelic5
    @SuperAngelic5 Год назад +34

    Andy kicked this song to another level.

  • @jasoncarpp7742
    @jasoncarpp7742 3 года назад +72

    I remember when I first heard *"Every Breath You Take".* It didn't sound sinister at all. I thought it was a song of mourning. Someone you loved dearly had left you, or someone you loved had passed away and naturally you're sad that that person is no longer in your life. 😢

    • @jackisnthereipromise
      @jackisnthereipromise 7 месяцев назад +2

      That’s how I interpret it, I like to think of it as a message from someone you’ve lost in your life, who’s passed on whether naturally or before they’re time. Just knowing that as long as you’re on earth, if there is something after, they’re watching and they’re with you, but if their is nothing afterwards, at the very least, they still live with you in your heart and in your memories.

    • @guillermosahuquillo4499
      @guillermosahuquillo4499 6 месяцев назад +4

      But singing “o can’t you see, YOU BELONG TO ME, how my poor heart aches with every step you take”. He has been rejected, and keeps stalking the poor girl.

    • @jerryharris876
      @jerryharris876 29 дней назад

      That's not a bad interpretation.
      If you want to hear one that is more obsessed stalker, listen to the one done by Chase Holfelder.

    • @rejectionisprotection4448
      @rejectionisprotection4448 23 дня назад

      That's so interesting. Did you listen to the lyrics? The minute I heard it, it sounded sinister.
      "Every bond you break
      Every claim you stake
      I'll be watching you"
      How can you interpret this in any other way?

    • @jasoncarpp7742
      @jasoncarpp7742 22 дня назад

      @@rejectionisprotection4448 I'm sure there are *many* ways to interpret the lyrics.

  • @kathryncachart5809
    @kathryncachart5809 3 года назад +46

    The reason why this song is so powerful is because it’s a song that’s open to interpretation. Everyone can relate to the words in some way shape or form

    • @ThomasSawyers
      @ThomasSawyers 2 года назад +9

      ...it's a song about stalking someone, it's literally a song from the perspective of a stalker, speak for yourself lol, I personally don't stalk

    • @RandomVidsforthought
      @RandomVidsforthought 2 года назад +5

      If you choose to discredit and ignore sting's statement then you're wrong

    • @mncdssctn9110
      @mncdssctn9110 Год назад +3

      The stalker interpretation is the only way to interpret it. Anyone thinking this is a cute love song has a very toxic and creepy definition of love.

    • @sandralai617
      @sandralai617 6 месяцев назад +1

      We should thank Andy for this Song or rather he should thank Andy Summers.

  • @nkogliaz
    @nkogliaz Год назад +21

    There is definitely something that sticks in peoples minds and subconscious about 'Every Breath You Take', and it's absolutely Andy Summers guitar riff, it's ironic that he's never been given writers credit on what is arguably the biggest hit The Police ever had to date, if you listen to Summers in interviews, he claims the song was going in the trash, Sting and Copeland (the latter of which didn't even play a drum kit on the song, the kick was from a Oberhiem DMX drum machine, etc and so on), couldn't agree on anything pertaining to the song, and at one point, Sting told Andy, "Go on then, make it your own". and Andy Summers went in to the main room and just played that riff and recorded it in one take and everyone in the booth immediately started cheering, this has always been an incredibly sinister song to me, Sting has said it many times in countless interviews as well, it's pretty ironic a lot of people thought for years it was a love song, or a song about a passing loved one and Sting has been quoted numerous times finding it hilarious that people have taken the meaning of the song completely out of context for years (Like Puff Daddy with 'I'll Be Missing You', which ironically since he sampled / stole the one thing from 'Every Breath You Take; that Sting DIDN'T write, aka Andy Summers guitar riff for his remix, he has had to pay Sting almost 5k a day in royalties, and ironically will for the rest of his life, meanwhile Summers was shafted, once again and has still not received any remuneration or credit on the one thing Diddy stole), but Sting has always seemed to have a way of twisting a concept and pushing out something poetic, 'King Of Pain' was allegedly wrote when he and Trudie were staying at a house in Jamaica, and Sting was lamenting cheating on his then wife Frances, I read once that he said he was out on the veranda looking at the sky, and Trudie asked him what he was doing, and he said, "There's a little black spot on the Sun...", went back inside and penned the rest of the lyrics for the song after coming up with the next line 'That's my soul up there'.
    I love The Police, I own all of their 12"s, 45"s and all of the groups individual albums and singles as well (Summers/Fripp, Sting, Klark Kent, etc), but 'Every Breath You Take' has always been an incredibly contentious issue for me, and I think here soon, now that Sting has sold all of his rights to all of The Police songs to Universal Music Group aka UMG, this subject will come back out into the public eye in a big way in the year 2024 and on, Summers himself has been hinting at it quite frequently as of late, and I think it's time he got his credit and payment for his contribution to this timeless song.

  • @kayeroskaft9619
    @kayeroskaft9619 2 года назад +20

    I always thought this was a sinister song-a song that says I’ll be stalking you. Even if the person from one’s past means no harm it is upsetting when he admits having sat outside your house-watching-40 years after a breakup. That meant driving at least 40 miles and never relinquishing the feeling of unrequited love experienced at the age of 20.
    (Never would I want this song at a wedding-scary. Yet, I really like the melody-takes you in to the obsession.)

    • @sgdst
      @sgdst 2 года назад

      It does. It being used by gang stalker to its victim mass surveilance otherwise.

  • @brasileiro69
    @brasileiro69 16 дней назад +1

    Shape of my heart is co-written by Sting and Dominic Miller, because Dominic composed the riff. Every Breath you take is written by Sting only, although the riff has been composed by Andy Summers.

  • @charissabanelundin6660
    @charissabanelundin6660 3 года назад +21

    Thank you for clarifying the true meaning of this song...

  • @sniffableandirresistble
    @sniffableandirresistble 8 месяцев назад +3

    At the time that was written, many people conflated intensity and possessiveness with love plus men being megalomanical in nature took those lyrics to be assertiveness. It's Andy's riff though that is really haunting and not unlike having breakfast in a bank vault it's unforgettable. ❤

  • @SKid_Athor
    @SKid_Athor Год назад +1

    Cant believe, I've seen this on point explanation. Wow!!!! 40 yrs too late, but ok. Bedda late than neva! It's a two-dimensional song now... Just makes it much more beautiful. Great Job, Sting. I'd love to be one of your kids in school. 🙂

    • @Zephyr_Weiss
      @Zephyr_Weiss Год назад +1

      Better late than never*

    • @SKid_Athor
      @SKid_Athor Год назад

      @@Zephyr_Weiss yeah... and the later the stronger the perception is. 😔😎

  • @ivandesantis858
    @ivandesantis858 3 месяца назад

    I love what he said about the song meaning how it means one thing to him but once it's released into the world it's meaning belongs to each and every listener and what it means to them.

  • @kristineholcroft9163
    @kristineholcroft9163 Год назад +1

    This is one of my very favorites songs always will be

  • @kingcon2k11
    @kingcon2k11 6 месяцев назад

    I love th3 simplicity of stings lyrics, huge inspiration honestly

  • @ruthcelitavlogs1447
    @ruthcelitavlogs1447 2 года назад +3

    I love this song So much I sing this so nice ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

  • @localbod
    @localbod 10 месяцев назад

    The middle eight still stands out for me as a great piece of music.

  • @ImpartiallySpeaking
    @ImpartiallySpeaking 2 года назад +4

    The spitting image version is still my favourite and one in which any trace of stalking is removed

  • @pachudoblas
    @pachudoblas 5 месяцев назад

    The song is actually very good, classic in nature. One of those that appears to have always existed. But what makes it one of the most successful and perfect songs in pop history is the arrangement by the trio in the peak of The Police’s capabilities. The whole Sincronicity album is a gem of songwriting but also of arrangement, musicality, playing with finesse, originality and constraint art the same time. Andy is genius level consistently and specially in Every Breath You Take. His riff is what finally takes the song to the level where it is, maybe what only 20 or 30 songs in pop are: inmortal. Stewart respect the song and makes a perfect drum track that is what the song demanded but maybe not what he would have liked to play, he is not so minimalistic, but he served the son really beautifully. Sting bass is simple but perfect as well. At the end, they sculpted the song to perfection. Great songwriting, God level arrangement and playing.

  • @EndoftheTownProductions
    @EndoftheTownProductions Год назад +6

    Has Andy gotten a writing credit yet for the song?

  • @paulself8698
    @paulself8698 7 месяцев назад

    In my Top 10 songs ever.

  • @RobertFornaro
    @RobertFornaro Год назад +1

    First song I heard after my daughter was born

  • @stimbobis
    @stimbobis 3 года назад +3

    10 million times? It’s almost at 1 billion on Spotify

    • @thegoodsgone1965
      @thegoodsgone1965 3 года назад +2

      True, but each time it gets played on the radio it earns quite a bit of money whereas on Spotify 1 stream = £0.003 (and even less if streamed from a free account). Still though a billion streams would net you at least a couple million quid or so.

  • @IvaHaze
    @IvaHaze Год назад +16

    No way people play this on their wedding.

  • @britocuevasa.andrea7388
    @britocuevasa.andrea7388 3 года назад +9

    It fits perfect for Joe Goldberg character jaja

  • @exclamationpointman3852
    @exclamationpointman3852 3 месяца назад

    Stewart brought the power to it.

  • @GeddyLeeBell
    @GeddyLeeBell Год назад +2

    I've heard that people used Lips of an Angel by hinder at there weddings too. What's next Your Love by the Outfield?

  • @Gauchothedog
    @Gauchothedog 4 месяца назад

    Sting once said this song paid for the entire ,massive Property in Italy

  • @stefanoripari1816
    @stefanoripari1816 4 года назад +7

    Tre Police The Best

  • @azymighthh6835
    @azymighthh6835 2 года назад +7

    Do you all know that Sting was an english language teacher before professional singer

    • @kayeroskaft9619
      @kayeroskaft9619 2 года назад

      Yes, I know that

    • @nkogliaz
      @nkogliaz Год назад +2

      Of course, but did you ever consider the lyrics to 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' also? Sting wrote some DARK songs during the tenure of The Police.

    • @steveshelley-h5k
      @steveshelley-h5k 10 месяцев назад

      Yeah, I knew this when I first seen him in the police in Adelaide Australia, around 1979. Very good

    • @rejectionisprotection4448
      @rejectionisprotection4448 23 дня назад

      Yep, since the late 70s.

  • @glastonbury4304
    @glastonbury4304 День назад

    What about the lyrics of the Irish Wake and bombs being dropped that were the original lyrics...

  • @tri675-p8c
    @tri675-p8c Год назад +1

    So in season 2 of Stranger Things it signified mind flayer

  • @March1966
    @March1966 5 месяцев назад +5

    The amount of money it’s made for the “writer” is why Andy Summers is pissed at Sting. There was no guitar part for the song. Andy came up with it on the spot, in the studio and deserves credit as cowriter. I believe “that version” of what happened while recording it has been substantiated by Stewart Copeland.

  • @jaylene.turner6524
    @jaylene.turner6524 2 года назад +8

    Who knew a song about stalking would be very successful.
    🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @jstone247
    @jstone247 8 месяцев назад +1

    Today this is regarded as tantamount to stalking, intimidation and coersion.

  • @courtneygillespie1187
    @courtneygillespie1187 Год назад +2

    When I think about the song as some crazy person...... I like it better 😅 romantic ehh.......

  • @heteronimous1
    @heteronimous1 2 месяца назад

    20 million times 4 minutes gives around 152 years!!! More than a century and a half!!!

  • @devilmecare
    @devilmecare 2 года назад +5

    If you've been stalked it's not that nice of a song.

  • @hitiblue
    @hitiblue 4 месяца назад +1

    The song is about a stalker.. No wonder why Diddy loved it so much he used it for one of his most famous hit. I always thought that song by Sting was about a guy in heaven watching over his wife.. Nope it's about a f'in stalker 😂😂

    • @backhight4386
      @backhight4386 3 месяца назад

      Why sting not wait eminem for sing this song, why fc king diddy man😂

  • @izizibee
    @izizibee 2 года назад +2

    Stalking song might be adopted by zuck

  • @keithdropps6123
    @keithdropps6123 2 месяца назад

    Luv all not sum 🌅

  • @janovewaldner1
    @janovewaldner1 2 года назад +3

    I think that most of the success of the song comes from the fact that it was published by a band of young people who were already popular. The young audience made it popular(viral). I'm pretty sure that if Sting would have published this song at his current age now, it wouldn't had got, not even a fraction, of the attention or success.

    • @nkogliaz
      @nkogliaz Год назад

      Tell that to Andy Summers...

  • @mpv409
    @mpv409 3 года назад +7

    Sting can’t do math

  • @elchristian
    @elchristian 10 месяцев назад +2

    ...without the riff of Andy, it would be just another corny song.

    • @exclamationpointman3852
      @exclamationpointman3852 3 месяца назад +1

      Both Andy and Stewart. Extremely crucial to the (not being simple) part of the song. Respect to Sting: but they are the salt and hot sauce to the song.

  • @AaronTheCrystalClod
    @AaronTheCrystalClod 10 месяцев назад +1

    "I hope this is the Puff Daddy version of this song, not that Sting piece of shit!" - Tourettes Guy

  • @sleuth-hb4ht
    @sleuth-hb4ht 2 года назад +1

    the song is about the great reset

  • @sigmale770
    @sigmale770 Год назад +2

    Una canción de simps acosadores que ofendería a muchas feministas locas paranoicas 🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @jiminycrint
    @jiminycrint 3 месяца назад

    American radio doesn’t pay a fee.