This was the first APP song I heard and fell in love with, which I do associate personally with being a kid, but I remember loving this song, then and now. And at the time, "games" to me, meant board games.
As I grew older, this song to me, along with the casino theme of the album, seemed like it was from the point of view of an aging black jack dealer or floor manager of the casino - someone who has been an employee there for several years, having seen a lot over the years, and being tired and burned out, wanting out of casino life. I imagine someone in that role would be like the furniture or a fly on the wall, unnoticed but an observer to the unsavory side of casino life (knowledge of illicit affairs, high profile clientele, prostitution, drug deals, other illegal activities, watching people come and go) and I took the "all the children have grown up" to mean he has seen generations of people come and go, either children of his co-workers, or seeing fathers, sons, and their sons come and go in the casino. In the song, the singer seems to be at a point in his life where he wants to walk away from it all, which may not be so easy to do, with everything that he knows. He seems a bit jaded, "where do we spend our lives knowing nobody gives us a damn?" He's unappreciated, overworked, and has been keeping secrets and doing his job for years in an unfulfilling job, and it has sucked the life out of him. He doesn't like the fact that these types of activities and this lifestyle is part of "business as usual".
I could be totally wrong, but the fast-paced synth of it brings to mind that this song is from the point of view of an observer, not someone who is necessarily involved in the activities.
This was the first APP song I heard and fell in love with, which I do associate personally with being a kid, but I remember loving this song, then and now. And at the time, "games" to me, meant board games.
As I grew older, this song to me, along with the casino theme of the album, seemed like it was from the point of view of an aging black jack dealer or floor manager of the casino - someone who has been an employee there for several years, having seen a lot over the years, and being tired and burned out, wanting out of casino life. I imagine someone in that role would be like the furniture or a fly on the wall, unnoticed but an observer to the unsavory side of casino life (knowledge of illicit affairs, high profile clientele, prostitution, drug deals, other illegal activities, watching people come and go) and I took the "all the children have grown up" to mean he has seen generations of people come and go, either children of his co-workers, or seeing fathers, sons, and their sons come and go in the casino. In the song, the singer seems to be at a point in his life where he wants to walk away from it all, which may not be so easy to do, with everything that he knows. He seems a bit jaded, "where do we spend our lives knowing nobody gives us a damn?" He's unappreciated, overworked, and has been keeping secrets and doing his job for years in an unfulfilling job, and it has sucked the life out of him. He doesn't like the fact that these types of activities and this lifestyle is part of "business as usual".
I could be totally wrong, but the fast-paced synth of it brings to mind that this song is from the point of view of an observer, not someone who is necessarily involved in the activities.
Great song. Always loved it.