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The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Ghost in the Machine
Released: 1981

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Lyrics

Though I've tried before to tell her
Of the feelings I have for her in my heart
Every time that I come near her I just lose my nerve
As I've done from the start

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on

Do I have to tell the story
Of a thousand rainy days since we first met
It's a big enough umbrella
But it's always me that ends up getting wet.

Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on

I resolved to call her up a thousand times a day.
And ask her if she'll marry me in some old fashioned way.
But my silent fears have gripped me long before I reach the phone
Long before my time has tripped me must I always be alone

Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on

Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on

Oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah
Every little thing, every little thing, every little thing, every little thing
Every little, every little, ever little, every little thing she does
Every little thing she does
Every little thing she does
Every little thing she does

Beo, beo, beo, beo, beo, beo, beo, beo
Beo, beo, beo, beo, beo, beo, beo, beo

Every little thing
Every little thing
Every little thing
She do is
Magic, magic, magic
Magic, magic, magic

Hey oh yo oh
Beo

Ah
Thousand rainy days since we first met
It's a big enough umbrella, but it's always me that ends getting wet

Writer/s: SUMNER, GORDON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Song Chart

This was originally an acoustic ballad Sting wrote while The Police were known as Strontium 90 (and included bassist Mike Howlett). You can hear the first recording of this song if you find their rare CD, Police Academy, released in 1997 and produced by Mike Howlett.

Sting used a lyric from this, "Do I have to tell the story of a thousand rainy days since we first met? It's a big enough umbrella but it's always me that ends up getting wet," on some other songs he wrote, including The Police's "O My God" from Synchronicity and "Seven Days" from his solo album Ten Summoner's Tales. (thanks, Jeff - Kendall Park, NJ, for above 2)

True to their punk roots, The Police have some colorful and dysfunctional characters in their early songs. While this song seems very endearing, the guy clearly has some issues, as he pursues a girl who does not return his affections. He might be crossing over into stalker territory as he resolves to call her up "1000 times a day."

This was the only track on Ghost In The Machine not recorded in Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean (it was recorded in Canada). However the promo video was shot at George Martin's Montserrat studio - we can see people of the island with the members of the band. The Police were deeply influenced by the music of the Caribbean (reggae music). (thanks, Mylene - Guadeloupe French West Indies)

This was the first demo Sting ever played for his bandmates. Good thing it's not a timely tune: they didn't record it until their fourth album, Ghost in the Machine.

In 1982 this won the Best Pop Song at the annual Ivor Novello Awards.

The intro to this song was used by German R&B singer Sebastian Hamer for "Immer Noch." His song's meaning is just about the opposite of the original. (thanks, Thomas - Saarbrucken, Germany)

This appeared on the soundtrack of the Adam Sandler movie The Wedding Singer and the 2005 film Bewitched. (thanks, Jazzz - Frankfurt, Germany)

In the book MTV Ruled the World - The Early Years of Music Video, Police drummer Stewart Copeland talks about the fallout from playing with all those buttons during this video: "'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' we shot in Montserrat, and it's strange how that was regarded as, 'The Who destroying equipment of our time,' because we were trashing that Trident desk. And that desk, by the way, ended up at Studio One in A&M, here in Los Angeles, and I've been to five or six different studios around the world that claim that the Neve sitting in their room is the one that we trashed. And I don't know which one is which. One Neve is the same as the other, if you ask me. And we weren't aware of trashing it at all. We were in the habit - because we were all very fit - of climbing over it, because it was very long. And if you were over there and you wanted to get over here to hit a fader or something, we'd just climb over it. Certainly, we were not cognizant of any abuse of the console. But we were just dancing around."

Sting already had this song in his pocket when he moved from his home city of Newcastle. He recalled in Daniel Rachel's book of interviews with British songwriters, Isle of Noises : "When I moved to London in 1975, I was struggling to make a living. I auditioned at the Zanzibar in Covent Garden. I sang 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' and the guy said: 'We need commercial hit songs. We don't need this kind of stuff.'"

"This song was included [on Ghost in the Machine] to try and leaven the rather sober tone of the rest of the record," Sting wrote in Lyrics By Sting. "It was written in 1976, the year I moved to London. I had no money, no prospects, nowhere to live. All I had was Stewart Copeland's phone number and some vague idea of forming a band. It was the year of the Sex Pistols, punk rock, aggressive loud music, violent lyrics, and 'Anarchy In The UK.' And I wrote this song, which tells you how in touch with the times I was."

This was used in The Office (US) episode "Phyllis' Wedding" in 2007.

A rather obvious hit, this was the first single from the Ghost in the Machine everywhere except the UK, where "Invisible Sun," a song dealing with the political climate in Belfast, was issued first.

The Police - Message in a Bottle

The Police - Message in a Bottle Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Reggatta De Blanc
Released: 1979

Message in a Bottle Lyrics

Just a cast away an island lost at sea-o
Another lonely day, no one here but me-o
More loneliness than any man could bear
Rescue me before I fall into despair-o

I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my Message in a Bottle yeah
Message in a bottle yeah

A year has passed since I wrote my note
But I should have known this right from the start
Only hope can keep me together
Love can mend your life but love can break your heart

I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle yeah
Message in a bottle yeah
Oh message in a bottle yeah
Message in a bottle yeah

Walked out this morning I don't believe what I saw
A hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore
Seems I'm not alone in being alone
A hundred billion castaways looking for a home

I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I'll send an S.O.S. to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle yeah
Message in a bottle yeah
Message in a bottle whoa
Message in a bottle yeah

Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
I'm sending out an S.O.S.
I'm sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.
Sending out an S.O.S.

Writer/s: SUMNER, GORDON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Message in a Bottle Song Chart

This song is about a guy stranded on a remote island. One day he finds a bottle, puts a message in it and throws it out to sea in hopes that someone will find it and come save him. The lyrics can be seen as a metaphor for being lonely and realizing there are lots of people just like you. (thanks, Sid - Bryson City, NC)

Sting (from 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh): "I think the lyrics are subtle and well crafted enough to hit people on a different level from something you just sing along to. It's quite a cleverly put together metaphor. It develops and has an artistic shape to it." Guitarist Andy Summers said it was the best track he ever played on.

Until they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this was the last song The Police played together. After breaking up in 1986, they performed it at Sting's wedding to Trudie Styler in 1992. Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers were all a little drunk and didn't play it very well, but the guests loved it. In 2003, The Police got together again for the induction ceremonies, where they played this along with "Roxanne" and "Every Breath You Take."

This was the first UK #1 hit for The Police. Their first two albums were much bigger in their native England than in the US.

Sting wrote in Lyrics By Sting: "I was pleased that I'd managed a narrative song with a beginning, a middle, and some kind of philosophical resolution in the final verse. If I'd been a more sophisticated songwriter, I would have probably illuminated this change of mood by modulating the third verse into a different key. But it worked anyway."

This was the first single from the second Police album, Reggatta De Blanc (which means "White Reggae"). The single was released shortly before the album came out.

The first person to hear the guitar riff for this song was not a person at all, but Sting's dog. "I used to play it over and over again to my dog in our basement flat in Bayswater," Sting wrote in Lyrics By Sting, "and he would stare at me with that look of hopeless resignation dogs can have when they're waiting for their walk in the park. Was it that hopeless look that provoked the idea of the island castaway and his bottle? I don't know, but the song sounded like a hit the first time we played it. The dog finally got his walk, and this song was our first number-one in the UK."

This was the first ever UK #1 for the A&M label, which Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss founded in 1962.

The Police boxed set is called Message In A Box as a reference to this song.

This is on the soundtrack to the 1982 movie The Secret Policeman's Other Ball.

Sting performed this with No Doubt at halftime of the 2003 Super Bowl between the Bucs and Raiders. No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani came out and sang with him about midway through. Stefani inducted Police into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later that year.

Industrial metal band Machinehead covered this on their 1999 album The Burning Red (thanks, Torbjørn - Trondheim, Norway)

There is a 1999 film by the same name starring Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, and Paul Newman that is not directly connected to this song. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, WA)

It may surprise you to learn that the song was influenced by the church music that Sting used to sing as a child. He explained in Isle of Noises by Daniel Rachel: "I used to sing Gregorian chants and plainsong as an altar boy. A lot of my melodies might reflect that love and my early exposure to that stark, melodic narrative. 'Message In A Bottle' reflects that, too."

This was used on several TV shows, including Ballykissangel, in the 1996 episode "Fallen Angel"; in Doctors, in the 2011 episode "Message in a Bottle"; and in The Office (US), in the 2007 episode "Phyllis' Wedding."

The Police - Driven To Tears

The Police - Driven To Tears Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Zenyatta Mondatta
Released: 1980

Driven To Tears Lyrics

How can you say that you're not responsible?
What does it have to do with me?
What is my reaction, what should it be?
Confronted by this latest atrocity

Driven To Tears
Driven to tears
Driven to tears

Hide my face in my hands, shame wells in my throat
My comfortable existence is reduced to a shallow meaningless party

Seems that when some innocent die
All we can offer them is a page in a some magazine
Too many cameras and not enough food
'Cause this is what we've seen

Driven to tears
Driven to tears
Driven to tears

Protest is futile, nothing seems to get through
What's to become of our world, who knows what to do

Driven to tears
Driven to tears
Driven to tears

Driven to tears
Driven to tears
Driven to tears, driven to tears

Writer/s: Sumner, Gordon Matthew
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Driven To Tears Song Chart

Sting wrote this in 1979 after seeing television reports of starving children.

Written in a motel while The Police were on their second American tour. Sting thinks this is the only song he ever wrote on the road.

Sting: "What are you left with when you're faced with atrocities? All you can do is cry."

The Police played this when they toured Australia in 1980, a few months before they recorded it.

Sting played this at Live Aid in 1985. The concert was a benefit organized by Bob Geldof to help starving children in Africa. This was a very appropriate song for the occasion.

A version from Sting's first solo tour is on his 1986 album Bring On The Night. It was recorded in Paris.

A live version by The Police is on their compilation album Message In A Box.

A 1980 performance by The Police was used in the British documentary Urgh! A Music War, which featured Punk and New Wave bands like Wall Of Voodoo, XTC and Devo.

Sting performed this on the charity telethon, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, which was held on January 22, 2010. He was backed by American hip hop band the Roots, and trumpeter Chris Botti.

Sting performed this at the Live 8 concert in London in 2005. He recalled in Lyrics By Sting: "It seemed as relevant to me then as it was a quarter of a century ago. Biafra, Darfur ... the issues surrounding genocide are the same, and I wonder if we are making any progress at all, or are we now totally immune to the images of horror that appear daily, everywhere we turn?"

The Police - Can't Stand Losing You

The Police - Can't Stand Losing You Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Outlandos d'Amour
Released: 1978

Can't Stand Losing You Lyrics

I called you so many times today
And I guess it's all true what your girlfriends say
That you don't ever want to see me again
And your brother's gonna kill me and he's six feet ten
I guess you'd call it cowardice
But I'm not prepared to go on like this

I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I Can't Stand Losing You
I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you
I can't stand losing you

I see you've sent my letters back
And my L.P. records and they're all scratched
I can't see the point in another day
When nobody listens to a word I say
You can call it lack of confidence
But to carry on living doesn't make no sense

I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,

I guess this is our last goodbye
And you don't care, so I won't cry
And you'll be sorry when I'm dead
When all this guilt will be on your head
I guess you'd call it suicide
But I'm too full, to swallow my pride

I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing.
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing,
I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't stand losing you

Writer/s: Sumner, Gordon Matthew
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Can't Stand Losing You Song Chart

This song is about a teenager who commits suicide when he loses his girlfriend. It took Sting only a few minutes to write the lyrics - they are not supposed to be deep and meaningful, but more of a joke.

A track from the band's first album, this was the second single The Police released, following "Roxanne."

This was the first Police song to chart: it hit #42 in the UK when it was released in 1978. A year later, after The Police became widely known, it was re-released and went to #2.

The single came with some interesting artwork: a picture of a hooded body hanging from a rope, indicating the boy in the song who killed himself. The hooded boy is the band's drummer, Stewart Copeland. (thanks, Jeff - Kendall Park, NJ)

The BBC banned this because of its morbid content.

The single was released in a variety of different colors, which have become collector's items.

Andy Summers used a processor called an Echoplex on his guitar. The device allowed him to continuously loop his guitar licks, creating a layered sound.

At live shows, The Police would improvise the middle of this to fill time, since they didn't have a lot of songs. The improvised jam eventually turned into the song "Reggatta De Blanc," which became the title track to their next album.

The Police - Roxanne

The Police - Roxanne Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Outlandos d'Amour
Released: 1978

Roxanne Lyrics

Roxanne you don't have to put on the red light
Those days are over you don't have to sell your body to the night
Roxanne you don't have to wear that dress tonight
Walk the streets for money you don't care if it's wrong or if it's right

Roxanne You don't have to put on the red light
Roxanne You don't have to put on the red light
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light) Oh

I loved you since I knew ya
I wouldn't talk down to ya
I have to tell you just how I feel
I won't share you with another boy
I know my mind is made up so put away your make-up
I told you once I won't tell you again it's a bad way

Roxanne you don't have to put on the red light
Roxanne you don't have to put on the red light
Roxanne (you don't have to put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)

Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (you don't have to put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)
Roxanne (put on the red light)

Writer/s: SUMNER, GORDON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Roxanne Song Chart

This song is about a man who falls in love with a prostitute. Sting got the idea after walking through the red-light district of Paris when the band was in town to play a club called The Nashville. He imagined what it would be like to fall in love with one of the prostitutes.

This was the first major-label release by The Police, who were struggling at the time. A year earlier, they released the single "Fall Out" on an independent label owned by Stewart Copeland's brother (and the band's manager), Miles. It was a flop, and the group felt a lot of pressure to produce something that would keep them off the dole.

When they convened at Surrey Sound Studios outside of London in January 1978, they recorded the song with producer Nigel Gray, who owned the studio. Sting liked the song but didn't think it would be a hit, as it was far more brooding than their other material. Miles Copeland thought differently - he was far more impressed with "Roxanne" than with anything else they recorded at those sessions, and insisted it be the single. Miles got a distribution deal for the song with A&M Records, getting no advance, only royalties from sales.

The song was released in the UK on April 7, but didn't garner much attention. It was also largely ignored in the US when it was released there on February 24, 1979, but The Police soldiered on with a tour of America anyway. When a disc jockey in Austin stared playing the song, it got a great response and other radio stations added it to their playlists. The song became a minor hit, peaking at #32 on April 28. The song also got some attention in the UK around this time, and it made #12 about a year after it was first released.

The intro to the song contains one of the great happy accidents in rock history. There was an upright piano in the studio, which Sting sat on thinking the lid was closed. Tape was rolling for his vocal, so the sound of his butt hitting the piano and his subsequent laughter were recorded. These sounds were mixed into the intro, providing a unique texture.

Sting chose the name Roxanne because it has a rich history behind it. Roxanne was the name of Alexander The Great's wife and Cyrano de Bergerac's girlfriend.

Police guitarist Andy Summers made a key contribution to this song. In our interview with Summers , he explained: "'Roxanne' is so identified by that guitar at the beginning - the first verse before he starts singing. It's immediately identifiable."

The Police performed this when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. With the exception of a drunken jam at Sting's wedding in 1992, it was the first time they played together since they broke up in 1986 over personal differences. At the ceremony, guitarist Andy Summers joked, "I'd like to make it very clear that there is no ego in our band whatsoever."

The beat on this song is a classic fusion of rock and reggae, but Sting considers is more of a tango.

In 1987, Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah starred in the movie Roxanne, which is based on the Cyrano DeBergerac story of a dramatist with a big nose who falls for a beautiful woman. The song was not used in the film.

A remake of this song was featured in the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge. Christian (Ewan McGregor) sings this about Satine (Nicole Kidman) when he becomes enraged in a fit of jealousy. And guess what? They made it into a tango, so this song can no longer be mistaken for a reggae beat... Sting must be very proud. (thanks, Kristy - La Porte City, IA)

Sting performs this at most of his concerts, as it's one of his favorites and it always gets a great audience response. He played it at Live Aid in 1985.

In the 1982 movie 48 Hours, Eddie Murphy sings a very off-key version of the song in a jail cell.

This song is the basis for a popular drinking game of the same title: men drink when it says "Roxanne," women drink when it says "Red Light." (thanks, Alex - Charleston, WV)

When The Police reunited in 2007, their first public performance came at the Grammy Awards, where they played this to open the show.

A version by San Francisco singer-songwriter Juliet Simms debuted at #86 on the Hot 100 in April 2012 after she performed the song on the reality music show The Voice.

The original sheet of lyrics for this song is decorated with Sting's random doodles, most dealing with the passage of time. They are "three clocks - one at five to four, another at ten past six, and one sidelong that looks to be showing eight o'clock - a sundial, an hourglass, five sets of five-bar gates that prisoners use to mark the passing of days, some kind of whirlwind vortex spinning in the top right-hand corner, and a spear or an arrowhead. I imagine I was drawing these as I was listening back to various takes of the vocals, but I don't know what they mean," Sting wrote in Lyrics By Sting. (These illustrations can be seen on the back cover of the book).

"I sing 'Roxanne' every night," Sting told Daniel Rachel for the 2013 book The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters. "There's always a little inflection that is new or a possibility that opens it out. It's not my job to reproduce a record that was made thirty years ago. I use that and I respect that, but it's only a template. It's that jazz mentality. You use the head of the song just as a starting point."

The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me

The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Zenyatta Mondatta
Released: 1980

Don't Stand So Close To Me Lyrics

Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be

Inside her there's longing
This girl's an open page
Book marking, she's so close now
This girl is half his age

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't Stand So Close To Me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it's not so easy
To be the teacher's pet

Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she's waiting
His car is warm and dry

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staffroom
The accusations fly

It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabakov

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me
Don't stand, don't stand so
Don't stand so close to me

Writer/s: SUMNER, GORDON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Don't Stand So Close To Me Song Chart

This song is about a teacher who lusts after one of his students. Sting was a teacher before joining The Police. After a lot of speculation, Sting denied that this came from any personal experience on the DVD for his 2001 All This Time album. (thanks, Tiffany - Castro Valley, CA)

The line "Just like the old man in the book by Nabokov" refers to the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which is about an older man who pursues underage girls. Sting based this song on the book. Sting mispronounces the author's name - the "bo" should be stressed. Also, in the novel Lolita, Humbert is not quite an old man. (thanks, Martin - London, United Kingdom)

The Police recorded this over a period of months. The song started as a Hammond organ-based Soul track then evolved through various complex arrangements, until it was eventually reduced to it's simplest elements.

This sold 900,000 copies and was the best selling single of 1980 in the UK.

This won the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Group.

The Police reunited in 1986 to record updated versions of some of their old songs. The reunion brought out old hostilities, and this was the only song they completed. The new version was released as a single titled "Don't Stand So Close To Me '86," and included on their greatest hits album Every Breath You Take - The Singles.

In 1985, Sting worked with Dire Straits on "Money For Nothing," which has a chorus that sounds very similar to this (compare the lines "Don't stand so close to me" with "I want my MTV"). Sting did not want a songwriting credit, but his record company thought he should get one so they could receive royalties.

This was featured on Friends in the episode "The One Where Underdog Gets Away." Joey was on a poster for Venereal Disease treatment, and the song was played when they showed all the posters all over New York City. (thanks, matt - Milton, PA)

The race horse Zenyatta is named after the album Zenyatta Mondatta. The horse is owned by Jerry Moss, who signed The Police to his label A&M Records.

This is an example of Sting's "work-backward" method. "I pluck a title from the air, just free-associating, and then try to figure out a story that it could apply to," he wrote in Lyrics By Sting. Fascinated by the dangerous obsession at the center of Nabokov's novel, he "transposed this idea to a relationship between a teacher and his pupil. Wanting by this time to identify whatever my sources were, I conspired to get the author's name into the song with one of the loosest rhymes in the history of pop. Well, I thought it was hilarious, but I caught some flak."

This was used on The Simpsons episode "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" (2005), on The Office (US) episode "Casino Night" (2006), and on the Glee episode "Ballad" (2009).

The Police - Peanuts

The Police - Peanuts Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Outlandos d'Amour
Released: 1978

Peanuts Lyrics

It's all a game
You're not the same
Your famous name
The price of fame

Oh no, try to liberate me
I said oh no, stay and irritate me
I said oh no, try to elevate me
I said oh no, just a fallen hero

Don't want to hear about the drugs you're taking
Don't want to read about the love you're making
Don't want to hear about the lives you're faking
Don't want to read about the muck they're raking

You sang your song
For much too long
There's something wrong
Your brain is gone

Oh no, try to liberate me
I said oh no, stay and irritate me
I said oh no, try to elevate me
I said oh no, just a fallen hero

Don't want to hear about the drugs you're taking
Don't want to read about the love you're making
Don't want to hear about the lives you're faking
Don't want to read about the muck they're raking

It's all a game
You're not the same
Your famous name
The price of fame

Oh no, try to liberate me
I said oh no, stay and irritate me
I said oh no, try to elevate me
I said oh no, just a fallen hero
Oh you're just a fallen hero

Don't want to hear about the drugs you're taking yeah
Don't want to read about the love you're making
Don't want to hear about the lives you're faking
Don't want to read about the muck they're raking

Don't want to find about the drugs you're taking
Don't want to read about the love you're making
Don't want to hear about the lives you're faking
Don't want to read about the muck they're raking

Don't want to find out what you've been taking
Don't want to read about the love you're making
Don't want to hear about the lives you're faking
Don't want to read about the muck they're raking

Don't want to find out what you've been taking
Don't want to read about the love you're making
Don't want to hear about the lives you're faking
Don't want to read about the muck

Peanuts, peanuts
Peanuts

Oh no no
Oh no no
Oh no no
Oh no no
Oh no no oh

Writer/s: Sumner, Gordon Matthew / Copeland, Stewart
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Peanuts Song Chart

This was written by Sting and Police drummer Stewart Copeland. Sting remembers writing it in his car on the way home from a late-night recording session in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. He recalled in Lyrics By Sting: "I was thinking about a former musical hero who had dwindled to a mere celebrity, and I was more than willing to pass judgment on his extracurricular activities in the tabloids, never thinking for a moment that I would suffer the same distorted perceptions at their hands a few years later."

The singer became so wary of the media that he wouldn't even attend his parents' funerals, fearing the press would create a spectacle.

The Police - Rehumanize Yourself

The Police - Rehumanize Yourself Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Ghost in the Machine
Released: 1981

Rehumanize Yourself Lyrics

He goes out at night with his big boots on
None of his friends know right from wrong
They kick a boy to death 'cause he don't belong
You've got to humanize yourself

A policeman put on his uniform
He'd like to have a gun just to keep him warm
Because violence here is a social norm
You've got to humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

I work all day at the factory
I'm building a machine that's not for me
There must be a reason that I can't see
You've got to humanize yourself

Billy's joined the National Front
He always was a little runt
He's got his hand in the air with the other cunts
You've got to humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

I work all day at the factory
I'm building a machine that's not for me
There must be a reason that I can't see
You've got to humanize yourself

A policeman put on his uniform
He'd like to have a gun just to keep him warm
Because violence here is a social norm
You've got to humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Re-humanize yourself
Re-humanize yourself

Writer/s: Copeland, Stewart / Sumner, Gordon Matthew
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Rehumanize Yourself Song Chart

Written by Sting and Stewart Copeland, this is the seventh track on the Ghost in the Machine album.

The line "They kick a boy to death 'cause he don't belong," from the first verse was inspired by a real-life tragedy that unfolded near Sting's home when a gang of skinheads kicked a young man to death. Sting remembered in Lyrics By Sting: "It was around the time my first son was born. When you become a father for the first time, peace and nonviolence becomes even more of an imperative."

This was featured in the 1984 comedy Bachelor Party, starring Tom Hanks.

The Police - King Of Pain

The Police - King Of Pain Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Synchronicity
Released: 1983

King Of Pain Lyrics

There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
There's a black hat caught in the high tree top
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain.
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the King Of Pain.

There's a little black spot on the sun today, that's my soul up there
It's the same old thing as yesterday, that's my soul up there
There's a black hat caught in a high tree top, that's my soul up there
There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop, that's my soul up there
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain.
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain.

There's a fossil that's trapped in a high cliff wall, that's my soul up there
There's a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall, that's my soul up there
There's a blue whale beached by a springtide's ebb, that's my soul up there
There's a butterfly trapped in a spider's web, that's my soul up there
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain.
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain.

There's a king on a throne with his eyes torn out
There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt;
There's a rich man sleeping on a golden bed
There's a skeleton choking on a crust of bread.

There's a red fox torn by a huntmen's pack, that's my soul up there
There's a black winged gull with a broken back, that's my soul up there
There's a little black spot on the sun today
It's the same old thing as yesterday
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running 'round my brain.
I guess I'm always hoping that you'll end this reign
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain.
King of pain
King of pain, king of pain, I always be king of pain...

Writer/s: SUMNER, GORDON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

King Of Pain Song Chart

This is a very personal song written by Sting. He had recently separated from his first wife, actress Frances Tomelty, and was not getting along with the other two members of the band.

Sting wrote this in Jamaica at the house where Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond books.

Sting: "I conjured up symbols of pain and related them to my soul. A black spot on the sun struck me as being a very painful image."

He recalled the specific incident and how future wife Trudie Styler inspired the song's title in Lyrics By Sting: "I was sitting moping under a tree in the garden, and as the sun was sinking toward the western horizon, I noticed that there was a lot of sunspot activity.

I turned to Trudie. 'There's a little black spot on the sun today.'
She waited expectantly, not really indulging my mood but tolerant.
'That's my soul up there,' I added gratuitously.
Trudie discreetly raised her eyes to the heavens. 'There he goes again, the king of pain.'"

The Police recorded the Synchronicity album on the Caribbean Island of Monserrat. This was a tough song to record, and the sessions were a bit contentious, as Sting didn't accept most of the suggestions from Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. The group split up after the album was released.

Weird Al Yankovic recorded a parody of this song called "King of Suede." It's about a guy who is really good at selling suede. (thanks, Cliff - Burkesville, KY)

A 2004 episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation is named for this song. Most of the show's episodes borrow titles from '80s hits.

Alanis Morissette covered this for her MTV: Unplugged album in 1999. It was released as a single but failed to chart in the US or UK (though it was a minor hit in Brazil and the Netherlands).

The Police - Every Breath You Take

The Police - Every Breath You Take Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Synchronicity
Released: 1983

Every Breath You Take Lyrics

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

Every move you make, every vow you break
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)

Writer/s: SUMNER, GORDON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Every Breath You Take Song Chart

This is one of the most misinterpreted songs ever. It is about an obsessive stalker, but it sounds like a love song. Some people even used it as their wedding song. The Police frontman Sting wrote it after separating from his first wife, Frances Tomelty.
In a 1983 interview with the New Musical Express, Sting explained: "I think it's a nasty little song, really rather evil. It's about jealousy and surveillance and ownership." Regarding the common misinterpretation of the song, he added: "I think the ambiguity is intrinsic in the song however you treat it because the words are so sadistic. On one level, it's a nice long song with the classic relative minor chords, and underneath there's this distasteful character talking about watching every move. I enjoy that ambiguity. I watched Andy Gibb singing it with some girl on TV a couple of weeks ago, very loving, and totally misinterpreting it. (Laughter) I could still hear the words, which aren't about love at all. I pissed myself laughing."

This was the biggest hit of 1983. It was US #1 for eight weeks.

Sting wrote this at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.

Police guitarist Andy Summers made a significant contribution to the arrangement of this song. He explained in a Record Collector interview: "Without that guitar part there's no song. That's what sealed it. My guitar completely made it classic and put the modern edge on it. I actually came up with it in one take, but that's because Sting's demo left a lot of space for me to do what I did. There was no way I was just gonna strum barre chords through a song like that."

The middle of the song was finished last. They didn't know what to do with it until Sting sat at a piano and started hitting the same key over and over. That became the basis for the missing section.

Sting knew this would be the band's biggest hit when he wrote it, even if he didn't think he was breaking new ground. In Rolling Stone magazine, he said: "'Every Breath You Take' is an archetypal song. If you have a major chord followed by a relative minor, you're not original." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

This won Grammys in 1984 for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance By Duo Or Group With Vocal.

At the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1983, this won for Best Cinematography. Featuring black-and-white layered visuals, it was directed by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley of the duo Godley & Creme, who used a similar look in their 1985 video for "Cry."

According to Andy Summers, an executive at their record company named Jeff Ayeroff showed the band, along with Godley and Creme, a 1944 short film called Jammin' The Blues , which contained elegant black-and-white footage of famous Jazz musicians performing in a smoky club. Andy Summers of The Police stated that their video was just a "watered down version" of this film.

Godley and Creme also borrowed the location and the cinematographer (Daniel Pearl) from the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers video for "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)," which has a very similar look.

Diddy (known as Puff Daddy at the time), sampled this on "I'll Be Missing You," his 1997 tribute to rapper Notorious B.I.G. Sting didn't know about the sample until after the song was released. He ended up making lots of money from it, claiming he put some of his kids through college with the proceeds. Sting performed "I'll Be Missing You" with P. Diddy at the MTV Video Music Awards, and the two remain friends.

Sting performed this on a 2001 episode of Ally McBeal. In the show, he was sued by a couple who broke up after one of his sexually suggestive concerts.

Robert Downey Jr., who was on Ally McBeal at the time, recorded a duet of this song with Sting for an album from the show called For Once In My Life. Downey was arrested and sent back to drug rehab soon after it was released.

This appears on the soundtrack of the 1999 Julia Roberts movie Runaway Bride. It was also used in the movies Risky Business (1983), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1987), The Replacements (2000), 50 First Dates (2004), Young at Heart (2007), What Just Happened (2008), and Heartbeats (2010).

The Police performed this when they were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. They were inducted by No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani, who showed a picture of her getting an autograph from Sting when she was a chubby 13 year old. It was the last performance of the night and the closest thing to the all-star jam that typically ends the ceremonies. The Police were joined by Stefani, Steven Tyler (who inducted AC/DC), and John Mayer, who had recently won a Grammy for his song "Your Body Is A Wonderland."

Sting re-wrote the lyrics when he performed this in 2005 at Live 8, a set of concerts organized by Bob Geldof to increase activism and demand more aid for Africa. Sting included the line, "We'll be watching you" to mean the world would be keeping an eye on the politicians making critical decisions on the fate of Africa.

Taking account of Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You," as well, which spent 11 weeks at #1, the combined total of 19 weeks makes this the longest running #1 tune in the Hot 100. The longest run at the top for a single song is Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day," which spent 16 weeks at #1.

Sting started off with the refrain "Every breath you take," then worked back. He recalled in Isle of Noises by Daniel Rachel: "Once I'd written and performed it, I realised it was quite dark. My intention might have been to write a romantic song, seductive, enveloping and warm. Then I saw another side of my personality was involved, too, about control and jealousy, and that's its power. It was written at a difficult time."

Sting wrote in Lyrics By Sting: "The song has the standard structure of a pop ballad, but there is no harmonic development after the middle eight, no release of emotions or change in the point of view of the protagonist. He is trapped in his circular obsessions. Of course, I wasn't aware of any of this. I thought I was just writing a hit song, and indeed it became one of the songs that defined the '80s, and by accident the perfect sound track for Reagan's Star Wars fantasy of control and seduction.

When I finally became aware of this symmetry, I was forced to write an antidote: 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free.'"

This was featured on several TV shows: the Knight Rider episode "Return to Cadiz" (1983); The Office (US) episode "Phyllis' Wedding" (2007); the Eli Stone episode "Happy Birthday, Nate," (2008); the Parks and Recreation episode "The Stakeout," (2009); the South Park episode "You're Getting Old," (2011); and the Glee episode "Frenemies" (2014).

Denmark & Winter's version was used on the TV series Pretty Little Liars in 2014 (episode: "Miss Me x 100") during a love scene between Aria and Ezra. It was a fitting choice, considering that Ezra was outed as a stalker at the end of the previous season.