Posted in: Musicouching by Anne Lyken Garner on November 14, 2009 | 29 Comments
Stalking is a serious crime that adversely affects men and women of all age groups. Of course I do not advocate or promote stalking in any way. For the purpose of this article, my aim is to pinpoint some disturbing song lyrics you may have sung along to, inadvertently subscribing to the lyrics between the lines.
Taking these songs on face value and considering they tell a story of a real person’s experience (I know that they don’t necessarily have to, but for the purpose of this article they will), here’s my countdown.
Lionel Richie – Hello
Image via Wikipedia
I start with this one because it’s kind of sweet. It’s not as heavily into the physical aspect of stalking as the others on my list (although if you’ve seen the video you may disagree with me on this). This is a case of boy loves girl – girl has no clue (interest). He’s clearly looking at her, yearning for her from a distance. He’s obviously been allowing his mind to wander far too much in his obsession with this girl, but at least he hasn’t taken the step to physically follow her (yet). I think the most disturbing thing of all about this song is that he’s already convinced himself that he loves her when he doesn’t seem to know her at all. This kind of obsession has the potential to be problematic for both parties. The obsessed becomes disillusioned when their ideals of perfection cannot possibly be lived up to, while the object of their obsession has unreal standards – created in someone else’s head – they can never attain.
“I’ve been alone with you inside my mind
And in my dreams I’ve kissed your lips a thousand times
I sometimes see you pass outside my door
Hello, is it me you’re looking for?
I can see it in your eyes, I can see it in your smile
You’re all I’ve ever wanted and my arms are open wide.”
The Police – Every Breath you Take
Here’s a man supposedly singing to his ex-girlfriend. He can’t get over her decision to leave him. He’s broken and crying. I appreciate all of this and I understand his hurt. But then the pain becomes crazed and perverted. He takes the wrong turn and watches her every step. Literally. This is a real fear and it’s warped to think that this kind of behaviour would be acceptable on any level. I would head to the nearest police station if anyone told me anything like this. ‘Oh can’t you see, you belong to me,’ he says. She, on the other hand doesn’t seem to ‘see’ this because she packed up and left, unaware that now she’s the object of his obsession.
svishnugopal November 15th, 2009 at 12:23 am
beautiful article, and beautiful songs to support..thanks
JulyBabi1992 November 15th, 2009 at 12:44 am
i never really paid that much attention to the lyrics but now that I read this..your right….its kinda freaky!!
Karen Gross November 15th, 2009 at 1:13 am
This is one thing about the internet and being able to bring up the lyrics to all of the songs we\’ve been humming along with all these years. For example the catchy chorus \”Blinded by the Light\” turned out to have wretched lyrics. And then there is Rod Steward in \”Tonight\’s the Night\”- about an older \”gentleman\” seducing a young virgin \”You\’d be a fool to stop this time.\”
Great article, Ann. I wasn\’t sure what to expect from the title, but I was quite confident it wouldn\’t include actual tips for stalkers.
mkd1788 November 15th, 2009 at 3:35 am
thank you for suggesting good songs… nice
Alexa Gates November 15th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
maybe we all should pay more attention to the lyrics of songs we listen to.. Great article
Jo Oliver November 16th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Love the title. Great picks…never thought about the stalkerish lyrics in some of these songs.
R J Evans November 21st, 2009 at 7:48 am
Cool article – yes, really quite worrying!
Kate Smedley November 26th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Some interesting song choices – it’s made me think twice about all of them .. and excellent article as always.
Pithom November 27th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I don’t actually have a ‘creep out’ list… but that’s something I’ll have in mind next time I hear such a song. I’ll let you know.
Interesting article. The first two choices were what came to my mind reading your opening paragraph, they’re possibly the most famous in that regard. Had never thought of the others in the same light however.
Thanks.
Kimberly Lee November 28th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Awesome job. Thanks for sharing
devsir December 29th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Thanks for sharing such a nice info. Good Song Suggestions.
qasimdharamsy January 1st, 2010 at 7:19 am
Great article….
jpg2693 January 2nd, 2010 at 7:58 am
terrific songs..it would be reminiscing 4 ur X.loL..
emanuele522 January 9th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
I love music, this makes me excited great post.
Franklin January 19th, 2010 at 10:44 am
this is unusually interesting..
Qwall January 20th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
nice i love music..
parsi January 22nd, 2010 at 3:47 pm
beautiful article, and beautiful songs!! thx!
vaughanh February 5th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Good article, makes you see those songs in a different light now!
troyjohnyala February 5th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
This is very good,I like it so much,music is my life!
Diverseblogger February 13th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Great piece!
Cutealice March 2nd, 2010 at 8:28 am
really nice post
Lena Brown March 9th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
When I saw the first artist, I couldn’t wait to see the rest! Awesome article.
The rapper, Common, has a song called Universal Mind Control and equally as damaging are the videos that are being produced these days. (Don’t get me started on Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rhianna and a bunch of others). Sorry for that tangent…
Yes, as a mother and a responsible adult I have to know what the youngsters are listening to and to think I was rocking out to Rick Astley back in the days…
Hurleyrly March 17th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
aww this is interesting! Great subject!
MartineP March 28th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
I personally do not see the harm in it. Yes, it sounds creepy, but love is creepy. I might write things like that myself.
Why? Well, it is a way to deal with pain. As long as you are aware that reality is not what you write or sing about, there is nothing wrong. Love and obsession are quite close and because we all get some promoted picture perfect of true love, people might start getting derranged in reality.
When you really love somebody and this person does not want you, you can write a song about it, or stalk this person for real. I know what I prefer. It is perfectly understandable that you might do crazy things when you are going insane with the pain of a heart ache.
So I would not worry about those songs. Normal people will understand these are not normal reactions, but keep in mind that most lyrics are written by artists and that artists tend to be hypersensitive and that they might suffer harder from rejection and heart aches than others.
wijayantha April 20th, 2010 at 8:45 am
i love this
Holly Sendy May 30th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
what a fun and great article! I guess when people listen to music, they don’t really pay that much attention…. Excellent Job!
Daisy Peasblossom June 5th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Well done. Song lyrics are frequently a reflection of what society finds acceptable, and sometimes influences that same acceptance.
Franklin June 6th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
nice collection… I find it alluring… hehehe
Spazo412 July 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Nice article. Thank you