Eight love songs that are really not, from Every Breath You Take to I Will Always Love You

These tracks do what all timeless song should and that’s to keep us intrigued

The Police released their hit Every Breath You Take in 1983, but the song's subject matter remains ambiguous. Photo: Redfern

More than the emotional sugar rush, what makes a pop song timeless is an ability to keep us intrigued in the subject matter.

Is God Only Knows by The Beach Boys a pean to a higher power or a lament by a dependent partner in a toxic relationship? Is Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA a patriotic anthem or a withering critique of American society? And is Hotel California by the Eagles a song about a hospitality establishment or the values the overall music industry represents?

Sometimes the realisation arrives years later, and this is particularly prescient when songs delve into matters of the heart. Perhaps, like love itself, they gain a richer understanding over time.

Here are eight works, in no particular order, challenging their categorisation as a love songs.

1. Drive by The Cars (1984)

Released 40 years ago The Cars biggest hit is less a romantic ballad and more concerned with the doubt and anguish that can come with falling in love.

A rarity in the pop landscape at the time, Drive discusses some of the grey areas in relationships and leaves the listener unclear whether the one in question is supportive or toxic. The refrain in the chorus of “who’s going to drive you home tonight?” is either interpreted as a sign of affection or resignation.

2. Every Breath You Take by The Police (1983)

A tender love song or stalker’s manifesto? The meaning behind Every Breath You Take has been debated for decades. More than the ambiguous nature of the lyrics, Sting often expressed various interpretations of the song over the years. “The tune itself is generic, an aggregate of hundreds of others, but the words are interesting,” he told The Independent. “It sounds like a comforting love song. I didn't realise at the time how sinister it is.”

The public didn't mind and it became the year's highest-selling single in the US, and one of the most popular songs in history.

3. I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston (1992)

While originally written and performed by country music star Dolly Parton, it was late pop star Whitney Houston's version that became a global hit, after it featured in the film The Bodyguard.

While the song is a wedding favourite, it really talks about life after a breakup. With lyrics recalling “bittersweet memories” and a hope “that life treats you kind”, I Will Always Love You is about the calm wisdom gleaned after a torrid separation.

4. The One I Love by REM (1987)

Propelling to hit status after it became a popular song dedicated to loved ones on US radio stations, The One I Love was released in 1987 as part of REM's fifth album Document. However, once you go further than the opening refrain "this one goes out to the one I love", the callous nature of the lyrics reveal itself and the partner in question is merely “a simple prop to occupy my time".

5. Marry You by Bruno Mars (2010)

A staple of the pop star’s concerts, the ebullient melodies and full-throated vocals channel the joy and abandon associated with a headlong rush to the marriage altar.

Only thing is, that impulse is not down to unbridled love. As Mars tells it, getting hitched is also done to pass the time: “It's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do," the lyrics state before later adding: "If we wake up and you wanna break up that's cool. No, I won't blame you. It was fun, girl."

6. Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis (2007)

Don't let the confident vocals fool you: the kind of love the British singer describes in her breakout hit is more complex than it seems. It is one where paranoia’s "piercing sounds fill my ears, try to fill me with doubt".

The chorus’s description of a "bleeding love" is the kind of bond that's consuming in all the wrong ways.

7. When A Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge (1966)

Viewed as one of the greatest love songs of all time and covered by everyone from Michael Bolton and Joe Cocker to Bette Midler, the track by the revered soul singer expresses the kind of unconditional love considered as problematic.

When A Man Loves A Woman often blurs the line between commitment and damaging self-neglect when it comes to a description of what is needed to maintain a relationship in troubled waters: “He'd give up all his comforts and sleep out in the rain. If she said that's the way, it ought to be.”

8. You're Beautiful by James Blunt (2004)

The British singer-songwriter made his name with a ballad perceived as one of the most direct love songs of the noughties.

A deeper glance at the lyrics reveals a song about unrequited love rather than a celebration of a deep bond. From a chance encounter with an “angel” on a subway, the emotional intensity builds as Blunt realises how unattainable she is. “But it's time to face the truth,” the song ends. “I will never be with you.”