There's No Other Way

It took me a while of listening to come to an understanding of this song. In fact, it wasn't until my wife got pregnant.

I think the song is about, in general, evolution and moving through stages. The verses are a reaction of the singer to a teacher or peer pressing him to do and act according to his age, but this doesn't seem like a lot of fun. But in the chorus he concedes that "there is no other way" to life, and we can't stay at one stage forever, no matter how fun or appealing that seems. thus all you can do "is watch them play," THEM being those who are coming up behind us. As ever-maturing beings, we necessarily evolve to find higher-ordered activities to be the only activities that afford true satisfaction. We can try to keep playing (like little kids play on a playground, or like older kids get high, or race cars, etc), but ultimately we can't keep doing it. All we can do is get satisfaction watching the next generation engage playfully with life.

Damon Albarn is a modern day prophet, and I think drugs have fed his muse. For my own reasons and rationalizations, I liked the pro-drug message I saw in other songs of his, so I couldn't understand this song until I realized that he may already have been aware that there is an end to everything, including certain mind-expanding tools. As in the first verse, he doesn't "want to think," and that, along with fun, is part of the allure to some drug use.

Always thought this felt like it was based on See Emily Play by Pink Floyd.

Love this song.

I think its about the aching blandness of the bourgeois.

Kewl song. Shame about the lack of comments on Blur's songs, they're an excellent band.

BombTheBourgeoisie puts it well: it’s about the aching blandness of the bourgeois. The video of this song reinforces that. The entire video is of some large family having a weekend lunch in an idealistic modern western setting. And the emphasis of the video is on how BORING this is. There’s nothing in it except eating, and changing of the dishes. The most intense highlight (shown with strobelights and changing colors) is bringing out the enormous dessert. And to think of it – this is the most exciting part? Entire life of the “mother” involves around making and serving food. She doesn’t even take off her apron. Such life might be satisfying in a numbing way, but it’s utterly closed and bland; and the deadly ironic smile of Damon speaks of it powerfully. He’s not even going to revolt or protest. He’s part of that family, where even the young girls wear identical clothes, and play the most dumb and innocent game in the backyard – throwing a little ball to each other. If you have had the experience of some wider outlook of life, you would find this idyll sickening, as is demonstrated by the worm in the beginning and the end of the video. But, from the point of view of someone who has never been “out there” – there’s no other way. But still even these people get some vague feeling of uneasiness, and they have to admit that someone somewhere can actually “play”, but they are limited (by their own character and lack of courage or willingness) to just “watch them play”.

I’ve also downvoted some comments which say nothing but “great song, great band”. As well-intentioned as these comments are, they are just a visual pollution. I also share the opinion that the song is nice, but this space is about discussing songs meanings, isn’t it? If everyone who likes this song would leave here such a comment, any meaningful/interesting comments would get drowned in this. So my downvote doesn’t mean that I don’t agree with the “like” contents, it just means that I’m proposing for the people to be more considerate of why and what are they saying, and of the overall effects of communication in our age, overloaded by information. We don’t have much more platforms left which are still relatively pure and uncluttered with bells and whistles of advertisements as this site; so let’s try to keep it this way for the time being. So no offence, people; PeaceSexRocknRoll!

P.S. and please don’t bomb the bourgeoisie. They’re already suffering enough (mostly unconsciously, mostly in waking sleep), and bombing them will make them just erect more stupid fences and gated communities. We should strive to lift them up from the blandness, by engaging and daring them to dance; but not by aggravating mutual separation. After all, they are not “they”, they are us; in the core we’re all the same. There’s no other way.

I have a theory. It sounds like forced TV ads to me. They spoil the fun of what he was watching. Making him want to do things, and taking him to places he doesn't want to. All that he can do is watch the ads play.

Or is it not complex at all? Just Blur extolling the delights of English life - family together, meat pie and enormous trifle. I've lived away from England for years and you do see the beautiful side of things.

Well, based on what I'm seeing, my interpretation of it seems very wrong. I get the image of them sitting in a pub rooting for their favorite football (or some other sport) team, only to have someone who is a fan of the team's opponents cheer them on. Also, it could be the favorite team is losing. Watching football doesn't take a doctorate to do, and sometimes, you just want to have dead brain time to collect yourself. However, the video does give another idea: They're at a family gathering and either the same sports related thing is happening, or that there's been a very nasty argument. "Watch them play" means doing the argument to is foreseeable conclusion.

[Edit: additional interpretation]

its now on some beer commerical...i forget the product. but yeah good good. i like that little guitar solo before the chorus, thats kick ass...graham coxon rocks.

love this song.another good band from the 90s. i wish someone would put something like this out now.