The instrumentals are just so hypnotic and precise, and Sting's voice soars with the melody. It may have creepy overtones in the lyrics, but I sing along every time it comes up on the radio or a playlist.
@Julius Mazepin Yes it is about an obsession but as Paul Heap says, it's obsession to the point of stalking that person. Both are important and related factors.
Years ago I heard Sting say in an interview that people would tell him, "We consider Every Breath You Take to be OUR song!" He said he'd think, "Wow, I'd hate to have your relationship," or something like that.
I think nowadays, he's more or less resigned himself to the fact that people *are* going to read into it what they want to read into it, regardless of his original intentions, and there's no point in trying to talk them out of it anymore.
Yep, "Heroes" by David Bowie went that way, too. It's so obviously about a relationship that's imploding when you suss out the lyrics, but if the German people wanted to think it was about the eventual collapse of the Berlin Wall, and the rest of the world wanting to think it's about people doing something to help someone else, if only for a moment, who was Bowie to say otherwise?
@@langlsd1604 For sure.. he has some SOLID jazz chops as a solo artist and with the Police he flawlessly incorporated that vast pallet into rock/reggae
I actually never " figured it out" that stalking was the premise, by listening to the song. I actually heard an interview done with STING, and the interviewer was talking about how the song had turned into a wedding and anniversary favorite....and STING said that it was funny to him how a song that he had written about surveillance, ( his own words) had turned into a song that people were using for stating their love to each other, and being used at weddings and the like.😂😂 I was floored, as was the interviewer. It's interesting because , any time you listen to the song it still winds up having a beautiful meaning.... because there is nothing that alludes to it being about someone, going overboard with obsessive surveillance of another individual. It's obvious from the song, that this person cares greatly and has been affected deeply in the heart, by someone else ...but again , it does not say that they are in fact stalking the other individual per se. Anyway, STING of course is a musical genius , and his drummer is a madman with awesome chops.. lol
O B S E S S I O N If the song was slowed down, in a minor key? Like Chase does? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0PLNsymQi3Y.html Then maybe folks wouldn't use it at their fricken weddings...
I saw Sting interviewed years ago and when asked about this song & what it is about: Sting said" its about the government" he smiled and that was all he said. He seemed sincere. Glad u enjoyed JAMEL !
Robin Porter Really I’ve actually seen him in an interview say he wrote it after breaking up with his first wife when he was having a little bit of a mental breakdown and was obsessing over what she was doing
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LAqBuHXbUns.html. Here he is actually doing an interview talking about it’s the break up of his first marriage and it’s a sinister song about his compulsion to basically keep tabs on her
I'm glad you brought it up, J. This was another one of those songs, like "More Than Words", that 99% of people completely misunderstood. The number of times I've had to explain that this song is about stalking is unreal. People get all angry trying to insist that these songs are love songs. Even the artists have had to come out and explain the songs. I'm glad you LISTEN to the lyrics. SMFH! Stay safe everyone. Cheers from Florida.
King of Pain is great one too.🙂 I believe Sting wrote this about his divorce & how that played out. Like she was out the door & he was still invested but seeing her actions clearly for the first time. I don't think its stalking, more like the veil being lifted on a bad relationship.
This is one of those songs that he's mentioned different meanings to over the years. I like the idea that it was his take on the Cold War, but that one's been mostly forgotten over the years
The stalker song. Lmao. I remember the look on a couple girls faces when they figured out what the song was really about. I was happy to show them lyrics. Oh yeah, another ZZ Top request. Heard It On the X.
@William Rochr It still amazes me how many people still insist this is a romantic song. I had a similar experience when I was putting together a CD (yes it was back then) of songs the wedding of a couple I know. This was on their list and when I told them, I had to play the song to them telling them to think like a stalker before they got it. It didn't make it to the wedding.
This song was from the last album by the Police, "Synchronicity". The name of the album was also the "theme" of the album. Every song explored some aspect of the phenomenon of synchronicity. This song is meant to show the strange relationship between love and obsession. Some of the people who hear it think "romantic, he's saying he'll always be there to care for and protect", others hear the ominous tones of an unhealthy mind. It shows how two very different things can often follow the same pattern.
This song is SO personal to me💔 My sister passed away 6 years ago and one thing we had in common was music and our love for this band.. So every time I hear this song I know she's there, with me
"If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is from Sting's first solo album, *The Dream of the Blue Turtles*, which came out in 1985. Two other songs from that album worth checking out are "Russians" and "Fortress Around Your Heart".
hey man. its a double stander when it comes to this song . the lyrics can be about a crazy person . or it can be about a person in love with someone who cant live without them .
Yeeees!!!! This song was used in a soap opera I used to watch back in the 80’s this lady was kidnapped by a stalker and they were playing this in the background .. it’s actually here on RU-vid .. it’s pretty creepy lol but I love this song! Cool reaction 😄
I love the fact that you have short introductions to your reactions. A lot of other reactors on RU-vid drone on and on before they get to the reaction.
Hello mate. I just happen to come across one of your vids and it reminded me of how much of a fan of the Police I was back in the day. I am 56 and live in Adelaide in South Australia. The first concert I ever went to without my parents was the Police at Memorial Drive Tennis centre in Adelaide in 1980. I have 5 or 6 LPs. Thank you for making me reflect and get a little emotional if I'm honest. I liked your reaction to all the Police videos as i have now watched all of them. Cheers from Chris
I'm 50 and when this song came out none of us thought it was anything other than a love song. And we loved the lyrics. I still do. It's called PASSION! lol
I remember my mom playing this when I was a preteen. I looked at her and said it sounded like a stalker song. She was like no, it is romantic. I was a bit of a young cynic. 😆
If we're going into Sting's Solo Career, three-quarters of the "Fields of Gold" album (including "Fields of Gold" is worth the listen. Many hidden gems on "Mercury Falling" as well.
Lyrically, the meaning of the song is unmistakable -- he literally says, "I'll be watching you"! What could be more clear? The song is great in its own right, but the brilliance of the video is in its minimalist nature -- monochrome, just three musicians playing and singing. Musically and visually, one of the best things to come from the 80s.
A friend of mine had a young teenage son who loved the band Police . He had been in a little trouble nothing major, when she heard this song by the Police, she would say-I’ll be watching you-with a smile on her face, he did grow up ok no more trouble. Every time I hear this I think of her
Reaction request for Cornelius Brothers and Sisters Rose - Treat Her Like A Lady and Too Late To Turn Back Now. Great songs and group! You will enjoy these as well!
I used to go and watch Sting when he was known as Gordon Sumner and was playing the Newcastle pub circuit with his band Last Exit back in the early 1970s. He got the nickname 'Sting' because he always used to wear a yellow and black striped rugby shirt.
Backstory: members of the band were in bands called Curved Air, Last Exit, Animals. Their manager was formerly in the CI A, and his brother was the drummer. They were originally a punk band, mixing in elements of ska, reggae and jazz. Each member is now considered very influential and one of the best in their respective fields:Sting as a vocalist, bassist and songwriter/lyricist, Andy Summer as a guitarist/composer and Stewart Copeland as a drummer/ composer. All had successful careers after the breakup, with Sting being the most successful and well known. The band, along with UB40, Madness and others introduced English style reggae to the US.
Jamal, Sting has used some of these lyrics several times as adlibs in his solo songs... Have a look/listen at "Love is the Seventh Wave" by Sting as a solo artist.. at the end he plugs in this melody and a couple words as the song fades .. VERY different songs though :)
I always loved the irony of including lyrics from a song about obsession and jealousy, a song about the dark side of "love", in a song about how love can solve our problems.
When this song first came out, it was right around the time when a loved one of mine had passed and I imagined them watching me from heaven. It may seem silly now, especially with everyone insisting it's about stalking, but at the time it brought me a lot of comfort.
The band can sell any kind of cover story they want to the public. But to me, this song will always be about the Big Brother surveillance state, as forewarned by many writers, including George Orwell's '1984' ... Heck, the band is even called THE POLICE!!!
Love The Police! Great Band!!! Great Songs!!! I grew up listening to this band! They’re Awesome!!! I’m sorry I just now realized you were playing the police!!! 😃👍. Great Videos!!! Thanks!!!
Get a look at something from Sting’s solo work, like “If you love someone set them free” or “Fields of Gold” very different sound..more adult contemporary
Summer 1983, this was a hit! That was one of my best most favourite summers and times of my childhood. I was 10 years old and still to this day, this song sounds amazing! The sound is dreamy, soothing, beautiful, in the clouds... (putting aside that it's about a stocker lol) the melody, the instruments, is voice, absolutely beautiful! Out of the hundreds of weddings I've been to in my life, yeah, I can't recall it being played... lol 39 years later and this is now an iconic legend. I've loved these guys since I was about 6. Great sound, uniqueness in their own kind. Love them!
I'm my brain this song is tangled up with Billy Idol's Eye Without A Face. Both videos are same year, B/W, and pretty damn smooth and powerful ballads. Do Billy Idol, Jamel!! 🙏
I had originally stumbled across your videos and channel by accident and have been watching your video reactions to mostly mainstream Top 40, rock or metal videos and even some songs in other languages. I have yet to see you react to songs in other genres of "rock" such as Post Punk, Goth, Darkwave, Coldwave, Shoegaze etc. etc. (for starters). I know you've reacted to a few New Wave and Synthwave songs (both genres which are connected to the others I mentioned) so, how about checking out some well known songs from bands in all those genres like: The Chameleons - Here Today Joy Division - Something Must Break A Flock Of Seagulls - Quicksand Clan Of Xymox - Muscoviet Mosquito The Psychedelic Furs - All Of The Law The Cure - One Hundred Years The Sisters Of Mercy - Marian Gary Numan - Metal Modern English - Life In The Gladhouse Siouxsie (pronounced "Susie") & The Banshees - Fireworks Bauhaus - The Passion Of Lovers Cocteau Twins - Serpentskirt
Think it's more of a love lost, and wanting to still be connected to that person in everything they do in the future without you, because you think there is a little part of you living through that person still in what they do. That's my interpretation. Could be relevant to someone who passed away, .... or the creepy stalker theme also. Ohhhh, that Sting is a crafty one, ain't he?
Sting went solo 2 years later, The Dream of the Blue Turtles was the name of the album. If you love someone set them free was the first single, then Russians but the best was Fortress around your heart, Love is the 7th wave is good too ,really reggae influenced
It really doesn’t matter what the artist is thinking about when the lyrics are written. It’s how YOU interpret the song. Amy Grant’s “Baby, Baby” is a song about her child, but it sounds like a romantic song.
I met Sting once after a concert in Madison, WI. He was fantastic! Also notice that every video he's in he doesn't stand next to the other band members. The camera shots make him look taller than he is. He's as thin as a toothpick and about 5'6" tall. But oh boy is he handsome and talented beyond belief!!
I worked at the USPS for a short time and one of the male carriers that worked there would sing this song whenever I came into view of him or if I walked by his mail case as he was sticking mail. It really freaked me out for a time. I still love the song though. It's great to listen to while your walking... great beat! Thanks for the reaction, Jamel.... take care... be well... Peace.
👍, for the reaction. You also have to remember that in 83 there was no such thing as stalking; but from the beginning I understood that it was about longing & obsession.
My dad is a retired LAPD Captain (one of the first FilAms to do it) when he was a patrol officer when we were kids in the late 70s and early 80s, my fraternal twin sister would play this song, over and over (Vinyl). My dad had to hear it playing from her room for days, weekends etc. He said, "Maddie, that song sounds like a very possessive/obsessive boy friend. This better not be a song some boy asked you to listen to!"... LMAO!
Sting was so amused . When it was listed as the most used Wedding Song in the eighties . And like all Police great songs . Copelands awesome drumming jumps out .
I was a kid when this song was released, and it was a big top 30 hit. I didn't find out that the song was about stalking until years later in my mid 20s. Looking at the video with you now, and the changes in light, the cold stares, the agression put forth in singing the song in the video context, yeah. I see it clearly. Lol
If I remember correctly (from an interview I saw with Sting) this song was originally written as a love song, in a matter of 15 minutes. It was after its release that Sting came out and renounced that it sounded like a stalker. He didn’t write it about stalking.
