Every Breath You Take
♪♫ Sting Lyrics
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Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you
Oh, can't you see you belong to me
How my poor heart aches with every step you take
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you
Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace
I dream at night, I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying, "Baby, baby, please"
Oh, can't you see you belong to me
How my poor heart aches with every step you take
Every move you make and every vow you break
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you
Every move you make, every step you take, I'll be watching you
I'll be watching you
Every breath you take and every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take (I'll be watching you)
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay (I'll be watching you)
Every move you make, every vow you break
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake (I'll be watching you)
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay (I'll be watching you)
Every breath you take and every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take (I'll be watching you)
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay (I'll be watching you)
Every move you make, every vow you break
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake (I'll be watching you)
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play, every night you stay (I'll be watching you)
The lyrics to Sting's song Every Breath You Take convey a message of obsession and possessiveness. The person singing the song is watching every move and step that their significant other takes. They even listen to every word the person says and watch every game they play. The chorus repeats the lyric "Oh, can't you see you belong to me? How my poor heart aches with every step you take." This person feels that they have a right to their significant other's life and they cannot let go even after the relationship has ended. The phrase "I'll be watching you" appears repeatedly, emphasizing the stalker-like behavior of the singer.
The second verse, "Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace" highlights the singer's heartbreak and inability to move on. They continue to dream of their ex and cannot find anyone to replace them. The desperation in this verse is palpable and reinforces the possessive nature of the song. The chorus follows the same pattern as before, once again emphasizing the singer's obsession.
Overall, the lyrics to Every Breath You Take have a haunting quality due to their portrayal of an unhealthy relationship. The song's popularity has led to many people misunderstanding its meaning and using it as a romantic love song. However, in reality, it portrays a possessive and controlling relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Every breath you take and every move you make
No matter what you do, I am aware of it
Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you
Even if you're no longer loyal to me, I will remain observant of your actions
Every single day and every word you say
My attention is constantly focused on you, even for the most mundane things
Every game you play, every night you stay, I'll be watching you
I am aware of your every move, even if you think you can hide it from me
Oh, can't you see you belong to me
I am possessive of you and believe you are mine
How my poor heart aches with every step you take
Your every action, even if it does not involve me, causes me emotional pain
Every move you make, every vow you break
I am fully aware of every promise you have broken and every decision you make
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I'll be watching you
Even if you pretend to be happy or successful without me, I will always know the truth
Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace
Following your departure, I feel incomplete and directionless
I dream at night, I can only see your face
My subconscious is consumed by thoughts of you
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I am unable to move on from you and find someone else
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I miss the physical and emotional connection we once had
I keep crying, "Baby, baby, please"
I am desperate for your return and pleading for you to come back to me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gordon Sumner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@turquoise770
@@Alan_Page That's an interpretation akin to a Stephen King-type novel, a la "The Shining", focusing at an individual level on the particulars of family dynamics (which might have been what the lyric writer intended), but to me, based on the lyrics and the song structure, its seems more of a universal commentary on existentialism as humans move into an increasingly uncertain 20/21st century.
If you notice the song doesn't really have a repeated chorus, just three verses broken up by what seem to musically read as three quasi-bridges (all starting with: "many miles away...), opening in a very futuristic dystopian minor key which sets the whole tone for what you can expect throughout. Suddenly though, it morphs into the major key as the verse begins and paints what seems to a Penny Lane-like picture with suburban family mornings and Rice Krispy breakfasts, yet as the song shifts into a chromatic modulation the lyrics begin to suggest cracks in the facade.
Then in that quasi-bridge ( seeming more to me like a musical aside ), an F natural (outside of the normal F sharps of the keys of A, G and D in which most of the song operates) figures strongly, mirrored in the lyrics with the unrelated topic of something lurking in a Scottish Lake, yet loosely tangential to the topic in the verses by the phrase "many miles away" (from that particular family) - a sort of re-imagining of the comic book technique "meanwhile, on the other side of town...".
There is an obvious tension between the verses ( descriptions of the mundane putting on a stiff upper lip and muddling through an increasingly difficult world to live in) and the seemingly unrelated quasi-bridges ( describing the approach of an ever-closer foreboding), and when I first heard the song, I realized that the clever and gradual elevating of this tension - between the seemingly unrelated subject matter of the verses and this ominous "thing" of the quasi-bridges - was intentionally left to my own imagination to make a connection, really for the very same reason that the ominous "thing" from the bottom of the Scottish lake is not named or described.
While the lyrics of the verses are meant in a haphazard way to approximate our own workaday experiences (confronting boredom, pollution, workplace dynamics, rush hour traffic, ad infinitum - or what might be called "la nausee" according to the mid-twentieth century French philosopher Sartre), the unnamed foreboding mentioned in the quasi-bridges represent an inevitable confrontation with existential threats arising from the consciousness that attempts to unite these seemingly meaningless trivialities and sufferings with ultimate purpose and meaning.
This inevitable confrontation and its resolution are again cleverly omitted as the lyric writer knows that every hearer of the song will eventually in their own way have to respond to the knock on that cottage door (on the shore of a dark Scottish lake), and confront whatever is on the other side; a cliff hanger of sorts as the song ends with a "to be continued..." coda.
As an addendum, notice that in the second quasi-bridge before the instrumental interlude, he sings "a dark Scottish loch", pronounced with fairly good amount of emphasis - perhaps to foreshadow that cottage door (LOCK? - or unlocked?). Yet, again another bit of cleverness.
@andrewhopkinson8736
Only Sting could sing the words "Rice Krispies" with such conviction.
@okrajoe
So true!
@BevisFriend2010
Bahahaha 🤣
@mariodeleon4350
I had heard Kellogg's took offense to their product being used in such a negative manner that they threatened to sue The Police if they didn't issue a formal apology.....Ok, April Fools! But I wouldn't doubt that happening it in today's world...
@chrisstevens-xq2vb
Because even crispies are part of the great resonant dance
@robynsegg
40 years later and this STILL sounds timeless!!!!!
@robynsegg
@@tendraftsdeep Same here! Definitely a "desert island disc! 🏜️ 🏝️ 💿 And a Happy New Year to U 2! 😂
@coreylapinas1000
No it sounds firmly 80s
@lookoutforfrankie2611
Thats a catchy powerful tune
@chrisstevens-xq2vb
Amazing song with the worst video ever.