In 1983, “the ghost of James Bond” made Sting write a hit. Since then, it’s been streamed 3 billion times

Sting has said the idea of James Bond’s dual nature helped shape “Every Breath You Take”, a Police hit whose calm, romantic sound contrasts with its lyrics about a narrator watching someone obsessively. The song’s ambiguous tone helps explain why listeners have adopted it as a love song, even though Sting has described the narrator as a stalker.

Sting wrote the song while staying at Ian Fleming’s estate, and later suggested the “ghost of James Bond” was present in its mix of devotion and menace. The article says the track has been streamed three billion times and calls it the most-streamed classic rock song of all time, showing how widely its romantic interpretation has endured.