Every Breath You Take
Musician1 list appearance
"Every Breath You Take" is a 1983 song written by Sting and performed by the English rock band The Police on their fifth and final studio album, Synchronicity. Its central paradox—an austere, hypnotic musical arrangement paired with obsessive, surveillance-themed lyrics—made it both a wedding staple and, in Sting's words, "the most ambiguous song I've ever written." Decades after its release, the track became the number one most-performed song in BMI's repertoire, reaching 16 million performances by 2021. Sting composed the song during a period of personal turbulence as his marriage to Frances Tomelty was ending, drawing on themes of jealousy, control, and surveillance. The Police recorded the track at AIR Studios in Montserrat during the 1983 Synchronicity sessions with co-producer Hugh Padgham. In 2023, drummer Stewart Copeland revisited and re-arranged the song for full orchestra as the lead single for Police Deranged for Orchestra.
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#5 Every Breath You Take?
Verified Entity DossierRanked #5 in Top 10 Best Songs of the 1980s
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Structured Facts & Specifications
Verified highlightsNode Type
CreativeWork
Songwriter
Sting (Gordon Sumner)
Entity Name
Every Breath You Take
Parent Album
Synchronicity (1983)
Primary Performer
The Police
Schema.org / Domain Tags
schema:MusicRecording, schema:MusicComposition, top10grid:song, top10grid:1980s-rock, top10grid:new-wave
Official Chart / Award Anchor
