What are some songs where, despite the catchy tune, paint a picture of an obsession?

The obvious one. “Every Breath You Take” by The Police

I love you you love me. Barney the purple dinosaur.

@anniereborn Spot on. Another is their Don’t Stand So Close to Me.

@talljasperman Ah, the lyrics are okay. It’s Barney that is creepy.

In the 80’s I was doing singing telegrams and was asked to do Pat Benitar One Way Or Another. I am so glad the guy didn’t show up. It was creepy.
Pat Benatar / Blondie
One Way or Another

Lyrics ↑

One way or another, I’m gonna find ya’
I’m gonna get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna win ya’
I’m gonna get ya’, get ya’ ,get ya’, get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna see ya’
I’m gonna meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’
One day maybe next week, I’m gonna meet ya’
I’m gonna meet ya’, I’ll meet ya’
I will drive past your house and if the lights are all down
I’ll see who’s around

One way or another, I’m gonna find ya’
I’m gonna get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna win ya’
I’ll get ya’, I’ll get ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna see ya’
I’m gonna meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’, meet ya’
One day maybe next week ,I’m gonna meet ya’
I’ll meet ya’ ah

And if the lights are all out I’ll follow your bus downtown
See who’s hangin’ out

One way or another, I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna give you the slip
A slip of the hip or another I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna trick ya’, I’ll trick ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna trick ya’, trick ya’, trick ya’, trick ya’
One way or another, I’m gonna lose ya’
I’m gonna give you the slip

I’ll walk down the mall, stand over by the wall
Where I can see it all, find out who ya’ call
Lead you to the supermarket checkout, some specials and rat food
Get lost in the crowd
One way or another I’m gonna get ya’ (Where I can see it all, find out who ya’ call)
I’ll get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another I’m gonna get ya’(Where I can see it all, find out who ya’ call)
I’ll get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another I’m gonna get ya’(Where I can see it all, find out who ya’ call)
I’ll get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another I’m gonna get ya’
I’ll get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’

One way or another I’m gonna get ya’(Where I can see it all, find out who ya’ call)
I’ll get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another I’m gonna get ya’
I’ll get ya’, get ya’, get ya’, get ya’
One way or another

“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Hudson from Dreamgirls is obsessive.
“I don’t wanna be free. I’m staying…you’re gonna love me.”
If the lyrics don’t convince you, try watching the music video.
A damn good voice, though.

Somebody that I Used to Know

Not so much “obsession”, but super catchy song with creepy lyrics: Pumped Up Kicks

lyrics
Robert’s got a quick hand.
He’ll look around the room, he won’t tell you his plan.
He’s got a rolled cigarette hanging out his mouth, he’s a cowboy kid.
Yeah, he found a six shooter gun in his dad’s closet hidden with a box of fun things.
I don’t even know what but he’s coming for you, yeah, he’s coming for you.

[Chorus 2x:]
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run, outrun my gun.

All the other kids with the pumped up kicks you better run, better run faster than my bullet.

^ Listened to that one the day after Breivik’s attack. We turned it off when we realised what we were listening to.

@longgone: Right. It popped up on Pandora one day while listening at work and I was drawn in by how catchy it was. About a week later after a few more listens I finally paid attention to the lyrics and thought, “Whoa! Aaahhh, that’s a completely different song now.”

Every Breath You Take has absolutely nothing to do with obsession, quite the opposite in fact.
Sting wrote the song when he was going through a messy divorce, the song reflects his ex wife’s callous, greedy nature.

10cc I’m not in love

Well, I can think of ”Bang goes the Bells” Babylon AD, ”Self-esteem” Offspring, and.”Aqualungs” Jethro Tull.

@Judi Indeed, you lucked out. Thanks for sharing that creepy story.

@dxs What took that guy so long to bolt for the door?

IDK @Kardamom I’ve always interpreted it as just another sad break-up where one person wants to remain friends and the other needs to cut it off completely. This could be wrong.

@cookieman Yup. Dark and creepy. I doubt that my nephew, a musician and survivor of the Va. Tech shootings, would appreciate it either.

@ucme True about EBYT regarding when it was written. There’s more to it than that though. Here is a quote from Sting:

This is one of the most misinterpreted songs ever. It is about an obsessive stalker, but it sounds like a love song. Some people even used it as their wedding song. The Police frontman Sting wrote it after separating from his first wife, Frances Tomelty.

In a 1983 interview with the New Musical Express, Sting explained: “I think it’s a nasty little song, really rather evil. It’s about jealousy and surveillance and ownership.” Regarding the common misinterpretation of the song, he added: “I think the ambiguity is intrinsic in the song however you treat it because the words are so sadistic. On one level, it’s a nice long song with the classic relative minor chords, and underneath there’s this distasteful character talking about watching every move. I enjoy that ambiguity. I watched Andy Gibb singing it with some girl on TV a couple of weeks ago, very loving, and totally misinterpreting it. (Laughter) I could still hear the words, which aren’t about love at all. I pissed myself laughing.” Source

@ibstubro Hmm, I like that song. I’ve always interpreted to mean the singer likes the person a great deal, but isn’t willing to admit it or take the relationship to the next level. There’s a lot of rationalization going on in those lyrics.

“I keep your picture
Upon the wall.
It hides a nasty stain that’s lying there.
So don’t you ask you me
To give it back
I know you know it doesn’t mean that much to me.
I’m not in love. No, no.”

What do you think is the reason that he doesn’t really want the girl to ask for her picture back? If she did, and it doesn’t mean that much to him, why not do so and replace it with another picture? And why is he crying? “Big boys don’t cry” is whispered by a female voice.

In any case, he’s clearly obsessed and denying it, @Pied_Pfeffer. A whole song explaining how he doesn’t love her while he cries?

Outstanding remake, when I thought that was an oxymoron.

Laura Branigan – Self Control

“Down by the River”, by Neil Young:

Be on my side, I’ll be on your side baby
There is no reason for you to hide
It’s so hard for me staying here all alone
When you could be taking me for a ride

She could drag me over the rainbow
And send me away

Down by the river, I shot my baby
Down by the river, dead, shot her dead.

The song could be interpreted as an obsessive relationship turned deadly.

i.e: If she just does what he wants, he’d “be on her side” & there’d be no reason for her to hide from him. (As long as he gets his way). He kills her in a passionate rage.

I understand that some people interpret this song as a reference to drugs too.