Portrait of a sociopathic narcissist

The Allan Parsons Project song, Eye in the Sky, is the portrait of sociopathic narcissist. Take a look through the lyrics bolded below and hear the narcissist speaking:

Don’t think sorry’s easily said…

They won’t say sorry and won’t accept your apology. The very feeling and action of repentance is repulsive to a sociopath. Your apology will backfire on you and they would rather laugh than admit they’re sorry.

Don’t try turning tables instead…

The sociopath is very well awake to any thought anyone has to manipulating them, and they will see even genuine, transparent efforts to relate with them as efforts to swindle them. Because they’re super manipulative, they expect everyone else is, so they exist in a world that is hypersensitive to being duped. They doubt acts of integrity especially. It’s a no-win situation. Act with veracity and that can easily backfire.

You’ve taken lots of chances before, but I’m not gonna give anymore…

The victim of narcissistic abuse is the one taking lots of chances just being in the relationship; they’re the ones, as it would appear, who take all the risks in remaining trauma bonded. The narcissist says they’re “not gonna give anymore” as if they’re the only ones who have given anything. This is an abhorrent lie and is the exact opposite of the truth. Only the victim empath partner has given, and they’ve given everything. They’re worn out in the giving.

Don’t ask me
That’s how it goes
Cause part of me knows what you’re thinkin’

The key deception that the sociopath engages in is the act of mind control—to give the illusion that they have mental and emotional mastery over their combatant, sorry, partner. “Part of me” suggests they’re so masterful that only part of them needs to focus on this, because it’s so easy to “know what you’re thinking.” This is a cruel hoax.

Don’t say words you’re gonna regret

What rhymes with “don’t say words you’re gonna regret” other than, “I will never forget”? Anyone close to the sociopathic narcissist runs the real risk of crossing them. They do that and they’re marked for life.

Don’t let the fire rush to your head

A key dimension of gaslighting is taking small matters, and sometimes even things that don’t exist, and pretending they’re a thing or that they’ve happened, when they aren’t or haven’t. Gaslighting is a practice that causes even the most confident person to doubt themselves.

I’ve heard the accusation before
And I ain’t gonna take any more

If the narcissist is accused of anything, they’ve already seemingly thought their way out of it. They’re completely at the ready. They won’t be trapped, and if anything, any attempt that they see is an attempt to entrap them will backfire horribly.

Believe me
The sun in your eyes
Made some of the lies worth believing

This is cruel. They’re always saying “believe me” in such a way that it would appear a heinous crime if you didn’t. The sun in our eyes is their ploy to distract us so their lies are worth believing and may well be believed, to the incredulity of those of our loved ones looking on. They may say, “How on earth are they so hoodwinked?”

Now look at how absolutely chilling the chorus is:

I am the eye in the sky
Looking at you
I can read your mind

The sociopath is the puppeteer with their eye in the sky. Everything must be within their control. They’re forever “looking at you,” reminding you, whether vocally or silently, “I can read your mind.”

I am the maker of rules
Dealing with fools
I can cheat you blind

Wow. It’s like reading the narcissist’s mind. They make the rules and they enforce them. They only play by their own rules and those rules change on a whim. The narcissist genuinely thinks that everyone other than them and their loyal purple circle are fools; they can cheat anyone blind, which means they can cheat someone without that person even knowing it.

And I don’t need to see any more
To know that
I can read your mind, I can read your mind

The narcissist doesn’t need to see anymore; they’re supremely confident that their first glimpse is a great judgement and pigheadedness is their forte. They don’t remain to be convinced that they can read our minds. And isn’t it so creepy when we get the idea that people think they can KNOW that they’re reading our minds. The truth is nobody can read minds.

Don’t leave false illusions behind
Don’t cry cause I ain’t changing my mind

Tears don’t affect narcissists because they have no gauge for empathy and sympathy sickens them. Empathy would confuse them if only they had the capacity to feel, but they don’t.

So find another fool like before
Cause I ain't gonna live anymore believing
Some of the lies while all of the signs are deceiving

The narcissist says, “Try another fool, just not I, because everyone’s a fool compared with I.”

Photo by Shashank Sahay on Unsplash