Every Breath You Take

"Every Breath You Take" by The Police (fronted by Sting), from their album Synchronicity was the number one song on the Year-end Billboard Hot 100 in 1983, my brother's birth year.

Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you

It was a very big hit then, and, I am sure, the song's popularity has not faded over the years. Back in the more innocent 1980s, songs like this would have spoken to us of the irresistible lure of love's passions. Nowadays? Go ahead, read the lyrics (and shut out the cool rhythm for awhile): it's romanticized stalking.

Turns out, 1983 was hit after hit after hit. I would have enjoyed this immensely had I been aware of the Billboard Hot 100 then. Just the top ten is already way too cool:

1. "Every Breath You Take" by the Police
2. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
3. "Flashdance... What a Feeling" by Irene Cara
4. "Down Under" by Men at Work
5. "Beat It" by Michael Jackson
6. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler
7. "Maneater" by Hall and Oates
8. "Baby, Come to Me" by Patti Austin and James Ingram
9. "Maniac" by Michael Sembello
10. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by the Eurythmics