Somebody's Watching Me

"Somebody's Watching Me" is the debut single by R&B artist Rockwell, released on the Motown label in 1984. The song's lyrics relate the narrator's paranoid fear of being followed and watched. It featured former Motown artists Michael Jackson on the chorus and Jermaine Jackson on additional backing vocals. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, and reached the top of the Billboard R&B singles chart, as well as reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart. It was the only major hit for Rockwell. His follow-up single Obscene Phone Caller was Rockwell's only other Top 40 single, reaching #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009, the song was ranked #20 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s. The single's music video underscores the song's paranoid tone with a haunted house-inspired theme, including imagery of floating heads, ravens, graveyards, and shower scenes referencing the film Psycho. The mailman who appears in the music video for "Somebody's Watching Me" also stars in the video for "Obscene Phone Caller". This was a low budget video. Music video produced by The Wolfe Company, directed by Francis Delia, cinematography by Dominic Sena, production manager: Jason Braunstein, production coordinator: Jon Leonoudakis. Leonoudakis appears in the video as the visual metaphor "watching" Rockwell through the porthole of the front door.

[Intro] Who's watching? Tell me, who's watching? Who's watching me? [Verse 1: Rockwell] I'm just an average man with an average life I work from nine to five, hey, hell, I pay the price All I want is to be left alone in my average home But why do I always feel like I'm in the twilight zone and...? [Hook: Michael Jackson and Rockwell] I always feel like somebody's watchin' me And I have no privacy I always feel like somebody's watchin' me Tell me is it just a dream? [Verse 2: Rockwell] When I come home at night I bolt the door real tight People call me on the phone, I'm trying to avoid But can the people on TV see me or am I just paranoid? When I'm in the shower I'm afraid to wash my hair 'Cause I might open my eyes and find someone standing there People say I'm crazy, just a little touched But maybe showers remind me of Psycho too much That's why... [Hook: Michael Jackson and Rockwell] I always feel like somebody's watchin' me And I have no privacy I always feel like somebody's watchin' me Who's playing tricks on me? [Instrumental] [Verse 3: Rockwell] (Who's watching me?) I don't know anymore Are the neighbors watching me? (Who's watching me?) Well, is the mailman watching me? (Tell me who's watching?) And I don't feel safe anymore, oh, what a mess I wonder who's watching me now (Who?!) - the IRS? [Hook: Michael Jackson and Rockwell] I always feel like somebody's watchin' me And I have no privacy I always feel like somebody's watchin' me Tell me is it just a dream? I always feel like somebody's watchin' me (Hee-hee-hee!) And I have no privacy I always feel like somebody's watchin' me Who's playing tricks on me? (Who's watching?) [Outro: Michael Jackson and Rockwell] (Who's watching me?) I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me Oh, my I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me Oh, my I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me And I have no privacy I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me I can't enjoy my tea I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me Can I have my privacy? I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me Who's watching me? (Who's watching me?) I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me Hee-hee! I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me Stop playing tricks on me (Who's watching?) I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me Why you don't let me be? I always feel like somebody’s watchin' me I can't enjoy my tea (Who's watching?)