I'll be watching you
If you think about it, this is a really stalkerish song. The irony is that Sting would be hard pressed to stalk anyone, because he’s famous. He’d be trying to be all low key, and someone would say “Hey! It’s Sting!” and soon there’d be a huge crowd trying to get his autograph. And you’d see him and think “There he is again. Weird.”
Of course, the flip side is that if Sting really was stalking you, no one would believe you. You’d say “Sting is watching me!” and they’d say “No, it’s just a song.” And you’d say “Listen! Every breath I take . . . every move I make . . . Sting is watching me!”
[I actually used to go up to people and tell them Sting was watching me. It was a fairly effective litmus test: if they thought it was funny, we could be friends.]
8 Comments:
Ironically, as I read through your post, Sting's song about how Love is Stronger than Justice came on. He's really out to get you, and I don't think the law with all those helpful restraining orders can help you, this time.
Can I be superlative again? This is hilarious. I'm laughing out loud in Manning's office upon reading it. I had always thought the bit about how stalkerish a song it was, but had never really thought through the implications of Sting. That bumps the song up from creepy to amusing.
Actually, Petra, the superlative would be "This is hilariousest." (And you're supposed to be teaching this stuff?)
Ah, but the fact that you can make it into "hilarioiusest" demonstrates that the word is, in fact, an adjective.
Supposedly, the song was written about his ex-girlfriend. Which woulc be really creepy for her, because his voice would come on the radio wherever she went and tell here he was watching her. Freaky!
Note, though, that I said, "Can I be superlative," not, "Can I use a superlative." This is clearly a use of "superlative" the adjective, not "superlative" the noun.
From the OED:
superlative (adj)
1b. Exaggerative, hyperbolical.
1588 FRAUNCE Lawiers Logike Ded, To disgrace the one, or advance the other in comparison wise, by superlative woordes, and hyperbolicall amplifications. 1828 MISS MITFORD Village Ser. III. (1863) 7 To all who knew Nelly's opinion of her own doings, this praise appeared superlative. 1906 CHURCHILL Sp. Ho. Comm. 21 Mar., I hope I shall not be drawn..into imitating..the protracted, superlative, and, I think, rather laboured exhibition with which he has occupied the attention of the House.
And, just in case you need more proof that it can be an adjective as well as a noun, here, from the OED:
1838 DICKENS Nich. Nick. xxxiv, You are the demdest, knowing hand,..the cunningest, rummest, superlativest, old fox. (Italics my own.)
That song's uber creepy. It sounds like a stalker song to me because he talks about how she breaks rules, lies, etc and he wants to watch her anyway. If he really did write it for an ex-girlfriend, he goes down about a million brownie points for that.
Although, it's pretty dang funny to picture Sting trying to stalk someone. Thanks for the laugh!
I agree it's a freaky song.
It's along the lines of that other song that went
"I don't care who you are...as long as you love me..."
Talk about co-dependent.
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