43 Years Ago, The Police Began an Impressive No. 1 Streak With the Most Misunderstood Song of All Time

As a songwriter, it can be frustrating to watch the public wildly misinterpret the music you create—sometimes gleaning meanings that are totally opposite from what you originally intended. But when that misunderstood art contributes to almost one-third of your publishing income, we’d imagine that soothes the worst of any lingering sting. At least, that seemed to be the case for The Police frontman Sting and his song “Every Breath You Take”.

The single from Synchronicity came out in May 1983. By that summer, the song was dominating charts worldwide. In the United States and the United Kingdom, “Every Breath You Take” remained at No. 1 for eight and four weeks, respectively. Elsewhere around the world, The Police track had lengthy stays in the Top 10.

An incredible chart performance wasn’t the only accolade the band garnered with this new wave hit. The song also won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocals. It received a nomination for Record of the Year, but The Police lost to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”. In Sting’s native U.K., he won the 1983 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

And with each new, shiny award and platinum certification, the world made one thing abundantly clear to Sting: we had no idea what he was actually talking about.

Let’s Hope We Didn’t Know What “Every Breath You Take” Was About, Anyway

Of all misunderstood songs in classic rock history, The Police’s 1983 track, “Every Breath You Take”, might be the worst. The general public interpreted the song as a devotion of love and loyalty, which Sting has accepted in many interviews over the years. While speaking to The Independent in 1993, though, the singer-songwriter said, “I didn’t realize at the time how sinister it is. I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance, and control. These were the Reagan, Star Wars years.” In a different interview with BBC Radio 2, Sting called the song “very sinister and ugly,” calling it “quite the opposite” of a love song.

Nevertheless, countless newlyweds have used “Every Breath You Take” as a song in their nuptials. DJs everywhere have played the song when trying to set a romantic, intimate vibe. All the while, these happy couples and dancing lovers sway and swoon to a song about an obsessive stalker who watches your every move. Just imagine if the global audience at large did know what the song was really about—Big Brother, mass surveillance, domestic violence, and terrorism—and the track still shot to the Top 10. How disturbing a commentary on humanity’s mindset that would be. So, really, thank goodness for the misunderstanding.

Moreover, the rampant misinterpretations of “Every Breath You Take” haven’t seemed to bother its songwriter, Sting. He has claimed that the song’s multiple meanings add welcome layers of complexity. Less talked about but equally relevant is the fact that The Police’s smash hit is estimated to account for around one-third of Sting’s music publishing income. With paychecks like that, we don’t think we’d get too torn up over a few lyrical misinterpretations, either.

Photo by Jack Cusano/Toronto Star via Getty Images

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