Don't Stand So Close to Me

The music and lyrics of the song were written by the lead singer of The Police, Sting. The song deals with the mixed feelings of lust, fear and guilt that a female student has for a school teacher and vice versa, and inappropriateness leading to confrontation which is unravelled later on in the song. The line Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov alludes to Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita, which covers somewhat similar issues.[3] After being criticised for rhyming shake and cough with Nabokov, Sting replied, "I've used that terrible, terrible rhyme technique a few times. Technically, it's called a feminine rhyme – where it's so appalling it's almost humorous. You don't normally get those type of rhymes in pop music and I'm glad!"[4]

Before joining The Police, Sting had previously worked as an English teacher.

In 1993, however, he said of the song's inspiration, "You have to remember we were blond bombshells at the time and most of our fans were young girls so I started role playing a bit. Let's exploit that."[4] In a 2001 interview for the concert DVD ...All This Time, Sting denied that the song is autobiographical.

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" appeared on The Police's album Zenyatta Mondatta (A&M), and became a hit No. 1 UK single,[5] along with a corresponding music video. In the US, it reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 10. In the UK, the track was confirmed by the end of 1980 to have been the biggest selling single of that year.

The B-side, "Friends", was written by Andy Summers and is inspired by Stranger in a Strange Land, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein.[4] Summers described the track as "Very quirky. A touch of Long John Silver on Acid."[4]

Sting was asked to perform on Mark Knopfler's "Money for Nothing" as he was in Montserrat at the time, and accidentally reused the melody from "Don't Stand So Close to Me" in the counterpoint lyric "I want my MTV." It was only after this story was relayed to reporters during promotions for the Brothers in Arms album that lawyers for Sting became involved, and later copies of the album co-credit the song to Sting. The initial pressings list only Knopfler. It is one of only two shared songwriting credits on any Dire Straits album.

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" features Sting on lead vocals. Like many Police songs, the verses are more subdued, while the chorus is bolder and louder. The song also bears a reggae style, yet another common trait in Police songs. Thematically, the "wet bus stop" idea invites comparison with the 1966 hit song "Bus Stop" by another English group, The Hollies.

The track uses a guitar synthesizer in the middle of the song, which was used by guitarist Andy Summers. Summers said, "After Sting had put the vocals on 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' we looked for something to lift the middle of the song. I came up with a guitar synthesiser. It was the first time we'd used it. I felt it worked really well."[4] The verses and choruses do not feature this effect.[4]

The verses are in the key of G minor, and the chorus is in D major.[6]

7-inch – A&M / AMS 7564 (UK)

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03
2. "Friends" – 3:37

7-inch – A&M / AMS 2301 (US)

1. "Don't Stand So Close to Me" – 4:03
2. "A Sermon" – 2:34

• Sting – lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, bass pedals
• Andy Summers – guitars, guitar synthesizer
• Stewart Copeland – drums

"Don't Stand So Close to Me '86"
Single by The Police
from the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles
B-side	"Don't Stand So Close to Me" (Live)
Released	October 1986 (1986-10)
Recorded	July 1986
Genre	Rock new wave
Length	4:51[17]
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Sting
Producer(s)	Stewart Copeland Sting Andy Summers Laurie Latham
The Police singles chronology
"King of Pain" (1984) "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" (1986) "Can't Stand Losing You" (1995)

The song was re-recorded in 1986 with a new, brooding arrangement, a different chorus and a more opulent production. The new version appeared as "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86" on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles, and was released as a single, reaching No. 24 in the British charts.[5] It also reached No. 11 in Ireland, No. 14 in New Zealand, No. 19 on the Netherlands MegaCharts Singles Chart (number 20 on Dutch Top 40), No. 27 in Canada[18] and No. 46 on Billboard Hot 100 (No. 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks).

Because of the decrease in tempo, a slight lyric change is found in the line "Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov" (the word 'famous' was added). A new music video was produced for the reworked song by Godley and Creme, notable for its early use of animated computer graphics.

Because drummer Stewart Copeland had broken his collarbone and was unable to drum, he opted to use his Fairlight CMI to program the drum track for the single, while singer/bassist Sting pushed to use the drums on his Synclavier instead. The group's engineer found the Synclavier's programming interface difficult; it ended up taking him two days to complete the task. Copeland ultimately finished the drum programming and claimed that the Fairlight's then-legendary "Page R" (the device's sequencing page) saved his life and put him on the map as a composer. In a Qantas inflight radio program named "Reeling in the Years", Copeland was quoted as saying that the argument over Synclavier versus Fairlight drums was "the straw that broke the camel's back," and that this led to the group's unravelling.

As the Police had already disbanded by the time the 1986 single was released, this, aside from the then-unreleased "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da '86," was the last recording before the band's reunion and the most recent studio recording the band has released.

The song was covered in the episode "Ballad" of the American television series Glee in 2009. It was performed by the character Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison) as a musical mashup with "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. It was included on the second soundtrack album from the series.

The single version charted at No. 67 in Canada, No. 64 in the United States and No. 50 in Ireland.