About The Song
“Don’t Stand So Close to Me” is a hit song by the British rock band the Police, released in September 1980 as the lead single from their third studio album Zenyatta Mondatta. It concerns a teacher who has a sexual relationship with a student, which in turn is discovered.
The band’s third No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, it was also the best selling single of 1980 in the UK selling 808,000 copies in 1980 alone. The song also charted in the top ten in Australia, Canada and the US. The Police won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.
The music and lyrics of the song were written by the lead vocalist of the Police, Sting. The song deals with the mixed feelings of lust, fear and guilt that a school teacher has for a student and the fallout when the inappropriate relationship is discovered by other adults. The line “Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov” alludes to Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita (1955), which covers somewhat similar issues. The line was criticised for rhyming “shake and cough” with Nabokov. Sting replied, “I’ve used that terrible, terrible rhyme technique a few times.”
Before joining the Police, Sting had previously worked as an English teacher. He referred to the song’s story progression as “the teacher, the open page, the virgin, the rape in the car, getting the sack.”
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 roleplaying a bit. Let’s exploit that.” He also stated that the song does not have a basis in fact, stating that “To be frank, it was right in our market. A lot of teenage girls were buying our records. So the idea was, let’s write a Lolita story.” In a 2001 interview for the concert DVD …All This Time, Sting denied that the song is autobiographical.
Video
Lyrics
Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
Inside her, there’s longing
This girl’s an open page
Book marking, she’s so close now
This girl is half his age
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it’s not so easy
To be the teacher’s pet
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she’s waiting
His car is warm and dry
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staff room
The accusations fly
It’s no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabakov
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so (please don’t stand so close to me)
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so (please don’t stand so close to me)
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so (please don’t stand so close to me)
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so (please don’t stand so close to me)
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so (please don’t stand so close to me)
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so (please don’t stand so close to me)
Don’t stand so close to me