Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond[1] you break
Every step you take
I’ll be watching you
Every single day
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 move you make
Every vow[2] you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake[3]
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, cant you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every breath you take
Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
Ill be watching you
Every move you make
Every step you take
Ill be watching you
Ill be watching you
Ill be watching you
Ill be watching you
Ill be watch
MEANINGS OF THE SONG
by acetica on 05-23-2002 @ 02:59:06 AMWe all feel hurt when one we love breaks a promise, or doesn't meet an expectation. We feel 10,000 times as bad as when we can not live up to a loved one's expectation.
by PJ10 on 06-04-2002 @ 11:22:39 PM
i saw an interview with sting where he said he wrote this song about the cold war but people just assumed it was a stalkerish[4] love song
by Junebug17 on 09-05-2002 @ 11:58:04 PM
I know that the typical take on this song is that it has a stalkerish aspect to it. However, another take on it might be the love and devotion a parent feels towards their child. The parent watches their baby grow up and eventually away from them. They feel pain when the child leaves for his or her first day of school, first date, prom, and eventually leaves to go to college or whatnot. But no matter where or what happens to the child that parent will always be watching over them.
by Cranberried on 04-02-2003 @ 03:25:22 AM
i heard this was about the government watching their every step, but since i've listened to this song since i was in diapers, thats really hard to believe
by buf31 on 04-13-2004 @ 12:16:22 AM
im not positive but a friend has told me that he wrote this song about the media and how the paparazzi follow him around and hang on his every word
by amazone on 05-21-2004 @ 03:30:48 AM
Well I don't think the meaning is in the songwriter. When we all think it's a stalkerish song, then it is, no matter what Sting says! So the meaning is in the audience, the ones who listen to the song. It has an obsessive beat and awesome lyrics... if you listen to this song too much, you might get insane too! And what else could it mean than the literal meaning? Just someone who's obsessed with you, and who watches every move you make.
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 on crying baby, baby please
This part proves that the song does NOT have anything to do with cold war or government. If you think it does, then try to explain this part from your perspective?
by Ghostly on 06-03-2004 @ 11:48:42 PM
Amazone, if the lyrics of the song are up to the listener, then why are you so quick to say it's not about the cold war?
To me, this song has no feeling of being a stalker. To me it's about a lover who dies, and through heaven or being a ghost or whatever it is, watches his love live life without him.
by nofx787 on 10-13-2004 @ 05:14:17 PM
All of you are wrong. I really do know what this song means. You people weren't even close to the meaning. My name is Rat, Golden Rat. I was partners with Sting in the mob during the late 70's/80's. The song is actually about Stings early days as a hit man. He actually had to change the lyric content so that it was suitable for for radio and tv. I recall some of the song:
Every kid I kill
All the blood I spill
Every bone i break
Every Life I take
I'll be stalking you.
thats all i remember, but its the real meaning behind this song.
- the rat
by froggerme on 10-29-2004 @ 05:53:58 PM
I watched a VH1 countdown once of top how many ever love songs of all time. Well at a certain point in the show they pointed out that this song was not on the countdown because Sting did not intend for it to be a love song. It was actually a song written about a "Big Brother" type government. Those that have read the book 1984 will understand what I'm talking about. But for those who haven't it's about a controlling government that watches everything you do.
by Hawkgold on 12-14-2004 @ 02:29:37 AM
I actually have heard Sting say that this song is about him imagining his ex-wife stalking him. I do believe that I heard it on one of the many VH1 shows.
Either way, I think the song is much more interesting when you think it's about stalking someone, because when I was growing up, so many thought it was such a great LOVE song. So, by at least having a different take on it, it makes me want to listen to the song over again and make new opinions about it, just as the "big brother" idea puts a new spin on this song.
by emgym76 on 04-13-2005 @ 02:26:19 AM
i could be wrong.. but i think its about someone he WAS with. but they broke up and hes still not over her so he does kind of stalk her. kind of like jealous and obsessive ex boyfriend kind of thing.
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 on crying baby, baby please
O can't you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take
that part seems like broken-heartedness mixed with stalking..
creepy?
by whistlersmammy on 04-16-2005 @ 12:04:51 PM
i have the police box set and in it sting says its about ownership, surveillance and jealousy. So in a way, it could be about the cold war. But I think more so, it was about the end of a relationship and the trouble we have letting go. when he wrote it he was going through a divorce as well, which leads me to believe this even more. either way, its an amazing song that goes down as one the greatest songs in history.
by holdtherelish on 06-25-2005 @ 07:24:28 PM
lol everyone has a different take on the song. I guess it's just a great mystery. And maybe we can't always trust VH1 because according to you people they said it was a song of love, then it was on the cold war, then the government. Someone must be lying, or VH1 is just retarded. I like the song no matter what it's about! And, no matter what it's about, it still is creepy
by Steve-e-b on 09-01-2005 @ 09:05:40 AM
Sting talked about this song and played part of it, acoustic, on Parkinson's chat show (on the last series for the BBC, I think).
He wrote the song while sitting on the porch/veranda of Ian Flemming's house. The inspiration came from thinking about the life-style and emotions that someone like James Bond (or any professional spy) must go through. Thus the references to spying.
The song is clearly about spying on someone, for what purpose is not clearly defined in the lyrics and is open to personal interpretation.
by Reynard Muldrake on 12-05-2005 @ 09:16:27 AM
This song is not about obsessive stalking or about profound love. It's about the emancipation of the US from Britain. No, think about it. Remember, Gorden Summoner (AKA, Stink, I mean Sting) is British. His work's been quite popular in the USA, giving him close contact with this country and time to become pensive and think about what the separation of Britain meant. The founders of the US were British, they left Europe to come here. Talk about a divorce. Now then, what has Britain been doing as it pines our departure? Watching, that's what. Every move. Every claim we stake. Every smile we fake. Every vow we break. And Britain still can't let go! They still want control. "Can't you see, you belong to me". And since we've gone, Britain has been eating our dust. If you're still not convinced, this should be the clencher... consider the part of the song that goes, "Oh, can't you see". Remind you of anything? How about the American anthem? "Oh, say can't you see...". It's a clear reference that makes the connection obvious when you're paying attention.
by Pakana Sielu on 12-21-2005 @ 10:21:50 PM
I do not see it as stalking, only natural love. He loves someone so much he wants to be there for them 100% of the time.
by vusi on 12-27-2005 @ 08:03:22 PM
agree with "pakana sielu".
Other comments all seem a bit freaky. I would never write a song about a government like that!
I also think it's about love which is unfortunately wasted, as you can't be with her/him but you still love.
I don't know if anyone of you ever lived no no, sure you did, imagine you are broken up with the one you love, but you have to see him/her in daily life, like in school or work or on the street... Even if you force yourself not to, you always find yourself watching every move he/she makes simply because you're still in love.
by AprilMoon1991 on 07-03-2006 @ 10:48:51 AM
I, for one, don't like this song as much as , say, "Wrapped around your finger" (don't get me wrong, I LOVE "Every breath you take", but I just can't connect to it that well, the whole stalking thing).
And as for the "government" watching and stuff like that, 'cause that's what they say it's about... I see this song as more of a religious one. As in God watching, seeing what we do and his "poor heart aches" seing the atrocities and sins and etc. I'm not ridiculously religious, as in going to Church every Sunday ("You could say I lost my belief in the holy church"), or saying grace before dinner, but when this song comes at the radio or tv, I can't help but think "Oh, my. God saw what I did to mum's favourite napkin!" @_@ So it creeps me a bit to hear "I'll be watching you".
So that's how I see it: a religious song.
by cityondown78 on 08-24-2006 @ 11:40:28 PM
I never had the impression that this song was about a stalker. I always sort of thought it was about a guy watching his true love from heaven or something. He's keeping an eye on her to make sure she's safe.
[1] bond = acord
[2] vow = promesa
[3] allà on visquis
[4] stalkerish = acosadora