I was listening to Adele’s Someone Like You the other day, when someone pointed out that it’s not just a song about unrequited love… it’s also a stalker love song.

I had never heard that term before, but quickly learned. A stalker love song is a song where the lyrics work perfectly for a psychotic stalker. It’s romantic and creepy, all at the same time.  What’s especially creepy is that stalker love songs are hugely popular with the listening public, and are often the biggest hits in the careers of the musicians behind them!

Here are four examples of stalker love songs:

4. Someone Like You, by Adele

At first, this sounds like Adele is singing a wistful love song:

I heard that you’re settled down
That you found a girl and you’re married now.
I heard that your dreams came true.
Guess she gave you things I didn’t give to you. 

But then it quickly gets stalker-y:

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it.
I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded
That for me it isn’t over.

Then it ends with an implied threat, making it a true stalker love song:

Don’t forget me, I beg, I remember you said,
“Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.”

Stalker love songs are beloved around the world. “Someone Like You” hit #1 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

3. Possession, Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan wrote this song with words pulled from a stalker’s letter (?!).  She said it was “very therapeutic”:

And I would be the one
To hold you down
Kiss you so hard
I’ll take your breath away
And after I’d wipe away the tears
Just close your eyes dear

A stalker later sued her for a copyright violation, claiming that she had used words from his letter. Apparently it’s not clear if she indeed used his words, or if he just sued her to be able to be in the same (court)room as her. In the end, it didn’t matter; he killed himself before trial.

Naturally Possession was a huge hit, spending 19 weeks on Billboard’s top 100.

(The video show above is a rerecording; Possession gets bonus points for having one of the creepiest and weirdest original videos in MTV history.)

2. Hungry Like The Wolf, By Duran Duran

This is the only stalker love song that actually uses the word “stalk”:

Stalked in the forest, too close to hide
I’ll be upon you by the moonlight side
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo
High blood drumming on your skin, it’s so tight
You feel my heat, I’m just a moment behind
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo

Duran Duran goes on, singing about stalking their prey:

In touch with the ground
I’m on the hunt I’m after you
Smell like I sound, I’m lost in a crowd
And I’m hungry like the wolf

Straddle the line in discord and rhyme
I’m on the hunt I’m after you
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I’m hungry like the wolf

The song went gold in the US, spending 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at #3.  The tune also enabled Duran Duran’s entire musical career: “Although the band initially failed to break into the U.S. market, MTV placed the “Hungry Like the Wolf” video into heavy rotation. Subsequently, the group gained much exposure; the song peaked at the number three spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1983, and Duran Duran became an international sensation. The video won the first Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1984.”

Stalker love songs, FTW?

1. Every Breath You Take, by The Police

Once again, this love song starts off sounding like it’s about unrequited love:

Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I’ll be watching you

And then it gets creepier and creepier:

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I’ll be watching you

Sting actually wrote it after getting separated from his first wife. As he explained, “I think it’s a nasty little song, really rather evil. It’s about jealousy and surveillance and ownership.”

Jealousy and ownership are big hits with the public apparently, as “Every Breath You Take” was #1 on the charts for 8 weeks. Puff Daddy covered the song as “I’ll Be Missing You”, which spent 11 weeks at #1. That gives the song 19 weeks at #1, which is the longest running #1 tune ever.  As Wikipedia explains, “This song is considered to be The Police’s signature song, and in 2010 was estimated to generate between a quarter and a third of Sting’s music publishing income.”

People sure love stalker love songs!

Do you like any of the above stalker love songs?  What’s your favorite stalker love song of all time? 

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