Don't Stand So Close to Me by The Police: Lyrics Meaning and Interpretation

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Don’t Stand So Close to Me is a pop rock / new wave song by the UK band The Police. Released in 1980, it served as the lead single from the album Zenyatta Mondatta.

Before understanding the Don’t Stand So Close to me lyrics meaning, you should learn about the title of the song.

What Does the Title Mean?

Don’t Stand So Close to Me was written by singer-songwriter Sting. It deals with the taboo theme of being physically attracted to a minor (in this case, between a teacher and a student). He based this on his own experience when he taught music at a school. Many 15 year old girls had a huge crush on him. He did not act on their advances, but he did acknowledge the complicated nature of the issue. “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” comes as a plea to maintain distance, before either the student or the teacher loses control and acts on their desires.

Read below to understand the Don’t Stand So Close to me lyrics meaning.

Verse 1 – What Does it Mean?

Young teacher, the subject

Of schoolgirl fantasy

The protagonist of this song is a schoolgirl (presumably a minor) who has developed a crush on a young male teacher. Songwriter and lead singer Sting does not specify many details around his characters. For example, you do not know the exact age of the schoolgirl nor the subject this young teacher teaches. But one thing is clear, this schoolgirl desire her teacher.

She wants him so badly

Knows what she wants to be

It may no longer be an innocent crush anymore. This schoolgirl truly desires her male teacher. She knows exactly what “she wants to be”. This is a question that children and teenagers are often asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The schoolgirl probably has not figured her career out. But she knows what she wants to become in the moment. She wants to take her relationship with the teacher beyond limits. From being one of his students, she now wants to be his lover.

Inside her there’s longing

This girl’s an open page

She is probably staring him uncomfortably in the classroom. Perhaps she stalks him and knows of his whereabouts. The schoolgirl is clearly obsessed and restless with her “longing” for the teacher. It is so powerful that she cannot even hide it. She has become “an open page”. This means, other school children have noticed her infatuation for the teacher. This schoolgirl is probably teased and poked fun at behind the teacher’s back.

Bookmarking, she’s so close now

This girl is half his age

Sting uses imagery related to school students. “Bookmarking” means marking a page in a text book to review later. In this context, “bookmarking” refers to the schoolgirl’s plan to seduce her teacher. It is finally coming together. The teacher is responding to her messages and soon something could happen between them. On the contrary, this could also be from the teacher’s perspective. Perhaps, he is a predator who has been “bookmarking” the schoolgirl for a chance to seduce her. Either way, this sounds wrong as the girl is “half his age”. This means, if the young male teacher is 25 years old, the school girl must be around 12 years old.

Chorus – What Does it Mean?

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Don’t stand, don’t stand so

Don’t stand so close to me

Don’t stand, don’t stand so

Don’t stand so close to me

The chorus is probably from the teacher’s point of you. People in school can see how the girl longs for him. Not only is this embarrassing for the teacher, it could also ruin his career and damage his reputation in society. Not to mention, he could go to jail for soliciting a minor. So the chorus signifies the teacher’s defense mechanism, requesting the schoolgirl to stay away from him. This could also be his way of controlling his own sexual desire for the girl. If she keeps her distance, he will not have to resist the temptation to act on his own longings. The Don’t Stand So Close to me lyrics meaning is perfectly captured in the chorus.

Verse 2 – What Does it Mean?

Her friends are so jealous

You know how bad girls get

When a cute teacher attends a class, several kids can develop a crush on them. The teacher in this song is clearly an attractive man. That means many girls find him attractive, including the schoolgirl’s friends. Most of them understand that they should act on their infatuation. So, they make peace with being “jealous” of whoever gets to date the teacher. “how bad girls get” may refer to a tendency in some girls to single out an unpopular girl and gossip about her behind her back. Perhaps, they have figured out that the schoolgirl is seriously obsessed with the teacher, so they make fun of her.

Sometimes it’s not so easy

To be the teacher’s pet

You get a better glimpse into this teacher-student relationship. Apparently, this schoolgirl is favored by the teacher as “the teacher’s pet”. Maybe she is good at his subject and performs better than others. Maybe she is more responsive than others in the class. It is possible that this was how the teacher and the schoolgirl began to truly fancy one another. It has reached a stage where it is “not so easy”. On top of that, they have to pretend and talk to each other normally in front of the entire school.

Temptation, frustration

So bad it makes him cry

In a relationship between an adult and a minor, the adult is viewed as the perpetrator while the minor is treated as the victim. The teacher understands this and therefore is trying his best to exercise control. He does not want to act on his physical urges. But the power of temptation is so strong that it “makes him cry”. But is it worth risking everything?

Wet bus stop, she’s waiting

His car is warm and dry

This serves as an innuendo. “Wet bus stop” could refer to a woman’s vagina. When a female is aroused, natural lubrication is produced inside her vagina, making it “wet”. “car is warm and dry” could refer to a man’s penis, which does not have any natural lubrication of its own. Taken literally, these lines depict a scene where the school girl skips her regular school bus on a rainy day. Instead, she drives away with the teacher in his car.

Verse 3 – What Does it Mean?

Loose talk in the classroom

To hurt they try and try

Strong words in the staffroom

The accusations fly

But now people have begun to suspect something fishy. Children are gossiping in the classroom, teachers are talking about it in the staffroom. They know something is going on between the teacher and the student.

It’s no use, he sees her

He starts to shake and cough

Just like the old man in

That book by Nabokov

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh

It’s too late for the teacher however. He is beginning to lose control and break his resolve. These rumors and accusations do not deter him anymore. Like the character Humbert in the novel ‘Lolita’, he is now obsessed with the schoolgirl. ‘Lolita’ was written by novelist Vladimir Nabokov. It narrates the story of Humbert, a middle-aged man, who becomes infatuated with his 12 year old stepdaughter, Dolores Haze. To protect himself from the law, Humbert calls Dolores “Lolita”, so people do not discover his sick intentions.