"Evil" and "nasty" are not usually words used to describe songs that achieve no.1 status on the Billboard Hot 100. Such words are also generally not associated with a band's signature song and biggest hit. Today's analysis is indeed that "nasty little song," 1983's "Every Breath You Take" by The Police! [1]
With often misinterpreted lyrics, "Every Breath You Take" not only masquerades as a love song, but as a depiction of a thriving band. When The Police recorded this, the band was on the brink of self destruction. Sting was going through a divorce and tensions between drummer Stewart Copeland and Sting were reaching a boiling point. [1] It got so bad in the studio that Copeland and Sting couldn't even be in the same room. Copeland would track upstairs from the main studio and have the control room on a video monitor only to watch his band mates shake their heads at his takes and often leave him in a communication-less state of confusion. Copeland would try to record drums before Sting arrived only to find out later, his parts had been erased. [2]. It's a wonder the record got made and an even greater wonder that such a timeless song resulted from these sessions.
This song is a great representation of the musical puzzles I have been investigating through this "Decade Hit" analysis project. We will see simple chord progressions and straightforward melodies enhanced with small nuances that really make the song pop.
July 9th - August 27th, 1983: "Every Breath You Take" by the Police lasts 8 weeks at the no.1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 charts!
The form of "Every Breath You Take" is stealthily simple. The 8 measure chord progression that dominates the verses is introduced instrumentally in the intro. 2 verses and a chorus are followed by a third verse that feels like a refrain, or even an obligatory post chorus shout. The first bridge, slamming a slight key change, lasts 10 measures. This leads smoothly into the verse changes, or "middle 8" as it may be. This secondary bridge (B2) flows through the verse changes with a few new melodies where we get shades of the outro.
The end of the song reigns in predictability with a return to the chorus and 3rd verse/post chorus. A short tag on the hook leads to the outro, a condensed version of the main chord progression complete with repeated background vocals and tags of the main hook. Like so many songs that reach no.1, it fades out.
I feel the song has two hooks, or catchy parts that easily identify the song. In this case, the title line happens at the beginning of verse 1 and the same intervals are used at the start of every verse that follows. The last line of the chorus, and tagged vocal hook in the end, is also a strong and familiar part of the melody. "I'll Be Watching You" has a slightly different intervallic structure in the verses yet the same number of syllables as "every breath you take." It's slightly morphed in the end to fit the intervallic structure of "every breath you take." It's a slick switcheroo that takes advantage of the familiar and palatable melody.
The song is in the key of A major. There are live performances of the Police performing this in concert A. This studio version is slightly tuned down though, almost a full half step. For the sake of simplicity, parts that follow are written A. It is kind of fun to picture Stewart Copeland vengefully sneaking into the studio at night and setting the tape machine to a slower speed the night before they shipped off the mastered versions, just to get in Sting's head.....probably not.
Chord Progressions
This relatively simple chord progression is led by the killer guitar arpeggios of Andy Summers. According to a 2000 Revolver interview with band, Summers had been playing with Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and was given permission, by Sting, to make an original guitar part that replaced his Hammond organ on the demo tape. He went with a Bela Bartok inspired arpeggio pattern that looks something like this: [3]
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| Verse - Guitar |
At its core:
I / I / vi / vi / IV / V / vi / vi
The ol' familiar I-vi-IV-V progression. A classic pop trope that we will likely continue to see well into the future. The big difference here, every chord includes an added 9th. This little flavor burst takes the common changes and lights it in a new way. The arpeggiated presentation add another dimension and a classic is born. This guitar part is impressive. Playing this clean over the entire song is no easy feat. Andy Summers proves why is one of the criminally underrated masters of guitar.
The chorus adds in new change, but keeps it mostly in the realm of predictability. The arpeggio pattern is also continued verbatim.
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| Chorus - Guitar |
IV / bIII / I / I / II / II / V / V
The IV - bIII change is unexpected but so good. The classic II-V to get back to the verse progression is simple and very fitting. This chorus is just another example of time-tested chord progressions with some extra kick that help them to stand out.
The bridge, on the other hand, kicks away the traditional pop patterns in favor of an edgier progression that is more reminiscent of The Police signature punk/reggae/new wave style.
The part kicks in with slightly dirty F major chord and toggles back and forth to G three times for a grand total of 10 measures:
bVI / bVI / bVII / bVII
This is another standard pop music progression, but it's usually seen in minor key songs. This is another good example of standard conventions used in a not so standard way.
This brief departure is a perfect bridge, giving the ear a slight break from the established harmony and bringing the rock before settling into the end. On top of all of this, there is a sweet piano melody running in the background that fills in the gaps and ties the part together:
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| Bridge 1 - Piano |
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| Verse 1 |
Each phrase is centered around the same group of notes: C#, D, B and A, or 3rd, 4th, 2nd and root in the key of A. The last phrase contains a quasi spoken F#. Each phrase starts on beat 2 or (1)+ and acts as a pickup for the next chord change. The rhythmic structure is very interesting. Sting ends up singing on the off beats much of the time, generally by a 16th note. I would imagine most vocal arrangements of this melody simply put the notes on the downbeats. Sting, however, is always just a little behind the downbeat, another element that makes this melody stand out.
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| Verse 2 |
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Chorus The first two phrases rise and fall with A, C#, D, E and F#, complete with the familiar delayed vocal resolutions. The next phrases go even higher and stick with pitch groupings: A and F# approaching the Badd9 (R-6/ A - b7-5/B) and then B and F# (R-5/B - 5-9/E) finally resolving to the root on the Eadd9 chord. The chorus is a great companion to the verse, offering familiar syncopation and interval structures and well as phrases that anticipate the subsequent chord changes. The bridge finally breaks the diatonic seal as we shift to the bVI chord:
The melody starts by moving between A and G, 3rd and 2nd of Fmaj with some familiar off beat syncopation used in the verse and chorus. G, E and D (root, 6 and 5) are used over the G chord in similar fashion. Slowly, the D is used as a low anchoring tone over the F major bars as Sting stays disciplined his choices throughout the section. It ends with a big swell up to the high A, another great example of the power of Sting's vocal ability. Sting's delivery of this bridge is very powerful and compliments the more forceful guitar parts. The entire bridge melody stays in line with the rest of the song, utilizing familiar syncopation and like phrasing. The middle 8, or Bridge 2, features 8 measures of instrumental playing and then introduces a vaguely familiar vocal melody.  Vocals and piano blend together to create this line, 5-4-3 in A, a direct call back the piano just introduced in bridge 1. These intervals also make up part of the hook "Every breath you take" and will come back to haunt you in the outro, It's a great example of musical foreshadowing. When we get it in full, Sting takes us home by repeating this melody every 4 measures:  3-4-3-2-R. The 4-3 resolution from the middle 8 comes back again. This line, as mentioned previously, is the same melodic structure as the opening line to the song. It's a great "full circle moment" in terms of how a melody can go through a long journey to end where it started. The coda is filled with lots of other stuff too, including this repeated melody:  The words shift through several variations but they each maintain this melody. This close harmony moves between root and 3rd on the A chord, which morphs to 3rd and 5th of the vi chord and is then varied with the familiar 4-3 resolution over the D bar. To put a pin on the full circle aspect of the melody, the ending vocals rehash almost all of the previous lyrics, repeating them over and over with additional statements of "I'll be watching you." There is one special moment that stuck with me at the end, a single statement of a falsetto swoon:  |
Up next time, we go deeper "on the 3's," going back to my favorite decade, 1973! Keeping in theme with the first week of August, we get a short 2 week reign at no.1 from an artist I know nothing about!
August 4th - August 11th, 1973: "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern makes it 2 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100! Stay tuned!
[1]https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/every-breath-you-take.html
[2]https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-police-every-breath-you-take
[3]https://www.sting.com/news/title/revolver
[4]https://www.stereogum.com/2091640/the-number-ones-the-polices-every-breath-you-take/franchises/columns/the-number-ones/
