Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Explained

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Cover:Everylittlething.jpg
Type:single
Artist:the Police
Released:16 October 1981[1]
Recorded:1981
Studio:
Genre:New wave, reggae rock, sophisti-pop
Length:4:22
Label:A&M – AMS 8174
Producer:
Prev Title:Invisible Sun
Prev Year:1981
Next Title:Spirits in the Material World
Next Year:1981

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a song by the British rock band the Police from their fourth studio album, Ghost in the Machine (1981). It was a hit single that reached the top of the charts in the United Kingdom in November 1981[2] and hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.[3] The song, unusual for including Jean Alain Roussel, a guest keyboardist, dates back to a demo recorded by bassist and lead singer Sting in the house of Mike Howlett in the autumn of 1976. The song has been described as new wave blended with reggae elements—the signature Police style. The popularity of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" helped to make Ghost in the Machine one of the Police's most successful albums.

Composition

Written in standard time, "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" sets up a tension between the keys of D major and D minor, with the bass line rising up a lydian scale, including portions of the song with no recognisable key. It ultimately resolves to D major, signifying the excitement of romance.[4]

The song is characterised as new wave,[5] with elements of reggae. Sting evokes a reggae feel by emphasising his bass guitar parts at the beats of four and one in the chorus,[6] and Stewart Copeland's drumming has reggae flourishes. The chiming notes of Caribbean steel drums are heard at the chorus.[4] Unlike other Police songs, it features an arrangement dominated by piano and synthesisers. The lyrics concern unrequited love, telling the story of a hapless romantic who has attempted to pursue a romantic interest for a long period of time, but is too afraid to do so.

Background

Although the song was recorded in 1981, Sting wrote it in early 1977 around the time of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, prior to the formation of the Police.[7] [8] An early demo of the song can be heard on the Strontium 90 studio album (1997), which Sting recorded entirely by himself while the song was still fresh in his mind (according to Mike Howlett), using equipment in the loft of Howlett's home in Acton, London which included an acoustic guitar, a bass guitar, an African drum, a TEAC 4-track recorder and some cheap microphones. For Howlett, this demo is "a powerful testimony to the raw, undiluted talent that is Sting".[9] The recording was made prior to the launch of the Portastudio in the late 1970s, which Sting would later use for writing and demoing songs for the Police.[10] A second demo was recorded in January 1981 at Le Studio in Morin Heights, Canada, with Nick Blagona engineering:[11]

Session keyboardist Jean Roussel was invited to play on the demo, to which he overdubbed multiple layers of piano, Minimoog synthesizer and clavinet. At the time, according to Roussel, Sting was considering using the song for a potential solo project before he decided to do the song with the Police.[12] Sting later flew Roussel over to help re-record the track against the wishes of his bandmates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland while they were recording the Ghost in the Machine album at AIR Studios, Montserrat.[13] Summers did not approve of Roussel's inclusion in the track, stating that he was "incredibly pushy" and that "there wasn't room for him. He must have played 12 piano parts on that song alone." Copeland, however, said that Roussel "wasn't pushy ... He was just like us actually."

Feeling that the arrangement of the track was not enough like the Police style, Summers (who recalled, "as the guitar player I was saying, 'What the f**k is this? This is not the Police sound'") and the band tried to "Police-ify" the track by attempting different arrangements and styles, but none of them clicked.[14] However, as Copeland remembers, the remaining two members of the band had to overdub onto Sting’s demo in the end:

In the chorus, Sting, not knowing any other word which would rhyme with "magic," used the word "tragic." Copeland said of this moment, "I remember Sting for years trying to think of a rhyme for 'magic', as in 'Every Little Things She Does Is Magic.' I think the only word he could come up with, apart from 'tragic', was 'pelagic', which means 'ocean going'. There I was in my leather pants and punk hairdo, pondering the distinction between ocean-going and river-going fish."

Release and critical reception

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" was released as the second single from Ghost in the Machine in UK and Ireland, while in most other parts of the world it was the debut single from the album. The song outperformed its predecessor in Britain, where it topped the charts. The song also hit No. 1 in Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands, No. 2 in Australia, and No. 5 in Norway. It reached No. 3 in America, making it and "King of Pain" the band's second-best-performing single there, after its No. 1 hit "Every Breath You Take".

The lyrics of the second verse, "Do I have to tell the story / Of a thousand rainy days since we first met? / It's a big enough umbrella / But it's always me that ends up getting wet," were reprised by Sting at the end of the song "O My God" issued on the band's next studio album. These lyrics were repeated once more in "Seven Days" on Sting's fourth solo studio album Ten Summoner's Tales (1993).[15] He later re-recorded the song in an orchestral version for his tenth studio album Symphonicities (2010).

Record World said that "There's urgency here that demands repeated listening."[16] The song received a positive retrospective review from AllMusic journalist Chris True, who praised the lyrics and described the song as "pop brilliance".[17] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Mike Duquette rated the song as the Police's 4th best, calling it "a heart-pounding love song for the ages."[18]

The song's B-side, "Flexible Strategies", was reportedly an improvised jam that was created in response to the record company's demand for a B-side. Stewart Copeland said, "Word came down from the marketing machine 'Create a B-side – today! We walked over to the gear, strapped on, and played for ten minutes. A disgrace."[19] [20]

Personnel

Track listing

7-inch: A&M / AMS 8174 (UK)

  1. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 3:58
  2. "Flexible Strategies" – 3:44

7-inch: A&M / AMS 9170 (NL)

  1. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 4:05
  2. "Shambelle" – 5:10

7-inch: A&M / 2371-S (US)

  1. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" – 3:58
  2. "Shambelle" – 5:06

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1981–1982)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 15
Italy (Musica e dischi)[23] 2
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[24] 12
US Cash Box Top 100[25] 6

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[26] [27] 58
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 30
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[29] 12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[32] 41
US Cash Box Top 100[33] 35

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BPI.
  2. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19811108/7501/ UK Singles Charts for the week of 14 November 1981
  3. [Joel Whitburn|Whitburn, Joel]
  4. Book: Gable, Christopher . 2008 . The Words and Music of Sting . Bloomsbury . 11–12 . 9781573567299.
  5. Book: Perone, James E. . Listen to New Wave Rock!: Exploring a Musical Genre . 2018 . Bloomsbury . 183 . 9798216111962.
  6. Book: Chris Jisi . 2008 . Bass Player Presents The Fretless Bass . 21 . Hal Leonard . 9781617133770.
  7. Lyrics by Sting, The Dial Press, 2007, page 56.
  8. https://www.metacritic.com/tv/vh1-storytellers/season-1/episode-5-sting-872838 VH1 Storytellers Season 1 Episode 5: Sting (July 15, 1996)
  9. Strontium 90: Police Academy. 1997. Mike. Howlett. Mike Howlett. 3-4.
  10. Jools Holland. 1981. The Police In Montserrat. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016060729/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxl_mQ4JJA4 . 16 October 2020 . dead.
  11. Web site: Interview With Nick Blagona. arpjournal.com. July 2011.
  12. Book: Campion, Chris . 2009 . Walking on the Moon: The Untold Story of The Police . London . Aurum . 163 . 9781845135751.
  13. [Andy Summers|Summers, Andy]
  14. Web site: Stewart Copeland on recording Police hits, soundtracks, Tama Drums and more. Joe. Bosso. 22 July 2012.
  15. Book: Gabel . Christopher R. . The Words and Music of Sting . 2008 . . 9781573567299 . 71. 9 December 2023.
  16. Record World. 26 September 1981. 1. 1 March 2023. Hits of the Week.
  17. Web site: Chris True . Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic – The Police | Listen, Appearances, Song Review . AllMusic . 29 March 2014.
  18. Web site: All 70 Police Songs Ranked Worst to Best. Duquette, Mike. 5 June 2022. Ultimate Classic Rock. 6 May 2022.
  19. Web site: 'Every Little Thing She Does' / 'Flexible Strategies'. thepolice.com. 25 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129233233/http://www.thepolice.com/discography/album/every-little-thing-she-does-magic-7-23576. 29 November 2014. dead.
  20. The Police Message in a Box booklet Page 58.
  21. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 235.
  22. Book: Pennanen, Timo . 2006 . Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava . Helsinki . fi .
  23. Web site: Classifiche . . it . 4 June 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "Police" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  24. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. 5 September 2018.
  25. Web site: Top 100 1981-12-12 . . 15 February 2015 . 17 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120917020953/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19811212.html . dead .
  26. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1981 . . 393 . 7 . . 4 January 1982 . 11 January 2022 .
  27. Web site: Steffen Hung . Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts) . Australian-charts.com . 17 October 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006134948/http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40275 . 6 October 2014 .
  28. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1981. Ultratop. 5 August 2021.
  29. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 17 October 2016.
  30. Web site: Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981. Dutch Top 40. 5 August 2021.
  31. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1981 . Single Top 100. Hung Medien . 13 March 2018 . nl.
  32. . Chart File Top 100 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130404163119/http://scans.chartarchive.org/UK/1981/UK%20Charts%201981%20-%20Singles%20and%20albums.pdf . dead . 4 April 2013 . . London . Spotlight Publications . 27 . 26 December 1981 . 13 June 2016 .
  33. Web site: Top 100 Year End Charts: 1981 . . 19 July 2016 . 18 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120918145923/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1981YESP.html . dead .
  34. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982 . Musicoutfitters.com . 17 October 2016.