Don't Stand So Close To Me

This was the first song of The Police I listened to, long before I finally became fond of this wonderful band - and it was simply because at that time I had a crush on one of my teachers too. : )

Actually I saw Sting perform it live at a German TV-show and I couldn't believe that there was a song that described my feelings so perfectly!

No surprise, I go along with the other users who said it was about the pain and difficulty of forbidden love - and the love is mutual, that's actually quite obvious.

I always interpreted the chorus as sung from both sides. They don't want to be too close because it makes it even harder for them to resist their (forbidden) feelings but also because they don't want people to know that they have a special relationship. The chorus is a simple as true - just one line but it sums up all the difficulties of the relationship!

Two more things I find interesting:

The teacher is described both as "young" (in the first stanza) and "old" (like the old man in that book). I think this is a clever way of showing that it always depends on your point of view. For the girl, he's young enough to fall in love with him and wanting a romantic relationship with him. She doesn't see the different age group he's in (believe me, it IS this way, back then I really thought that a 15-year-old girl and a thirty-something-year-old man could make a perfect couple). On the other hand, the man can't help feeling old and maybe like a paedophile when standing next to her.

I aways found the following line the "proof" that they are a secret couple: "Wet bus stop she's waiting His car is warm and dry" So although they know that they shouldn't be together, they can't resist it. He can't resist saving her from the rain and giving her shelter (!) and she can't resist his invitation and gets into the car (the car being a symbol for a totally different life/world she's entering). This is such a perfect picture!