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Wait Till You Realize: “Every Breath You Take” Is Basically the Stalker Anthem You Secretly Love to Hate!

Added on August 2, 2025 inMusic News Cards

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head, only to suddenly realize the lyrics are downright creepy? Well, buckle up—because that’s exactly what’s happening with The Police’s classic “Every Breath You Take.” Released back in 1983, many of us just sang along without really paying attention, but now the words hit differently. Are we listening to a love song, or is it more of a soundtrack for a cosmic stalker? Maybe it’s the current Mercury retrograde messing with our opinions, making us second-guess those sweet melodies we thought we knew. Sting, the mastermind behind the song, claims it’s about surveillance and control—not a stalker’s diary—but folks on social media are split, debating whether it’s a haunting ode or just a misunderstood classic. Even the UK’s largest choir decided to stop performing it, citing the eerie vibes the lyrics bring to their members. So, what’s your cosmic take? Is this tune a timeless gem shrouded in shadows or just an overblown paranoia? Either way, it’s got everyone watching — every breath, every move… LEARN MORE.

People are only just realising just how creepy the lyrics to the song, ‘Every Breath You Take’ actually are.

The song, by The Police, was released in 1983 and although we’ve never thought too much about it, the lyrics are seriously disturbing.

Here’s a snippet…

‘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.’

‘Oh, can’t you see/You belong to me?/How my poor heart aches/With every step you take?’

The song was written by Sting for The Police (Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images)

The song was written by Sting for The Police (Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images)

Although it sounds pretty creepy, Sting – who wrote the song and was also frontman of The Police – has always defended it.

In 1993, he said the song was about surveillance and control, rather than about a stalker.

“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,” he said.

“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 realise at the time how sinister it is. I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance and control.”

Sting has previously spoken about the track (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Sting has previously spoken about the track (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Over on Reddit, social media users have been discussing their feelings about the track, with one person explaining it had always ‘creeped them out.’

Another wrote: “It is creepy. Period.”

While another said: “I never for a moment thought of it in the sense of stalking. You’ve now ruined my enjoyment of the tune. Thanks a bunch—NOT!”

Others disagreed, however, with another writing: “I thought it was about the government. So it’s supposed to be creepy.”

And another wrote: “Only paranoid fools think this is creepy. The song is more than 40 years old and still a classic.”

Earlier this year, Britain’s largest choir, the Rock Choir, explained it will no longer be performing the song.

In a letter to members, founder Caroline Redman Lusher wrote (via Far Out): “Dearest Rockies, after much thought and discussion with some of the team, I have made the difficult decision to remove ‘Every Breath You Take’ from the repertoire.

“I have never removed a song before now but due to the impact the narrative is having on some Rockies and the potential – when it is taught – of more negative and challenging feelings from the wider membership, I feel it would be wise to replace the song.”

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