<P> Sting wrote the song in 1982 in the aftermath of his separation from Frances Tomelty and the beginning of his relationship with Trudie Styler . Their split was controversial . As The Independent reported in 2006, "The problem was, he was already married--to actress Frances Tomelty, who just happened to be Trudie's best friend (Sting and Frances lived next door to Trudie in Bayswater, west London, for several years before the two of them became lovers). The affair was widely condemned ." In order to escape from the public eye, Sting retreated in the Caribbean where he started writing the song . The lyrics are the words of a possessive lover who is watching "every breath you take; every move you make". </P> <P> 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 . 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 realize at the time how sinister it is . I think I was thinking of Big Brother, surveillance and control . </P> <P> Sting later said he was disconcerted by how many people think the song is more positive than it is . He insists it is about the obsession with a lost lover, and the jealousy and surveillance that follow . "One couple told me' Oh we love that song; it was the main song played at our wedding!' I thought,' Well, good luck ."' When asked why he appears angry in the music video, Sting told BBC Radio 2, "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it's quite the opposite ." </P> <P> According to the Back to Mono box - set book, "Every Breath You Take" is influenced by a Gene Pitney song titled "Every Breath I Take". Led Zeppelin's song, "D'Yer Mak'er" (1973), also contains the words "every breath I take; every move I make". The song has an AABACABA structure . </P>

The police – every breath you take lyrics