3 Hit Songs About Paranoia That Will Make You Look Over Your Shoulder

We’ve all had the feeling. The sneaking suspicion that someone’s watching you a little too closely. You feel a little tinge at the back of your head, and your mind starts racing. It’s a singular state of mind. Now, imagine you’re a renowned musician, and everyone actually is looking at you; all the time. Paranoia and the feeling of being watched have made their way into plenty of songs over the decades, including the three below. These classic tracks will have you looking over your shoulder, wrecked with panic. These artists certainly felt that way.

“Somebody’s Watching Me” — Rockwell

Starting with the obvious, we have Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me”. A Halloween staple and a year-round creeper, this 1980s masterpiece is about losing privacy. Though this is meant to be a song about a normal man feeling paranoia that someone’s spying on him, that message is made all the more potent with the inclusion of a Michael Jackson feature.

Jackson sings the falsetto chorus. As the biggest pop star on the planet, Jackson brought some truth to the line, “I always feel like somebody’s watchin’ me.” This song felt like an honest confession of anxiety from The King of Pop, which makes it all the more unsettling.

“Paranoid” — Jonas Brothers

The Jo Bros earned themselves a commercial hit with “Paranoid” in 2009. “It’s like a poison in my brain / It’s like a fog that blurs the sane / It’s like a vine you can’t untangle / I’m freaking out,” the lyrics to this upbeat anthem about relationship anxiety read. The kind of paranoia in this song sneaks its way into everyday life. Needless to say, it’s a familiar sentiment for many listeners, as evidenced by its success.

The Jonas Brothers did a good job matching the instrumental of this song with the titular emotion. It’s got an off-kilter edge about it that saddles the listener with a sense of unease. It might be a little light-hearted, but it’s not without its weight either.

“Paranoid Android” — Radiohead

Finally, we have this Radiohead hit. “Paranoid Android” is about many things, but it sums up the feeling of anxious alienation better than perhaps any song in history. Thom Yorke sings about greed, modern loneliness, and the inescapable voice of culture telling you to keep moving.

[RELATED: The Album That Made Radiohead’s Thom Yorke Take Music Seriously: “It Turned My Life Upside Down”]

“Please could you stop the noise? I’m trying to get some rest / From all the unborn chicken voices in my head,” the lyrics read. Radiohead has settled into the paranoia in this track, sitting with the feeling and trying to push back against it.

(Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images)