Young Man's Game

Album: Hendra (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Ben Watt, who is the male half of Everything But the Girl, has been an established presence on London's Deep House circuit as a DJ since 1998. This song finds him coming reluctantly to terms with the fact that, at 51, he's become a bit too long in the tooth to spin club tunes all night long. He explained to The Hollywood Reporter: "The dance floor never seems to age, but you do. It's never difficult to party one last time, it's the recovery that's hard."

    "At times, I was playing three different countries over one weekend and I didn't want to fake it anymore," he continued. "It was a more honorable, graceful thing to withdraw. Even if I thought I had something left to offer musically, I couldn't give of myself completely because I wasn't enjoying the experience as much as I used to."

    "Ironically, when I played the song to (producer) Ewan (Pearson), he's 10 years younger than me and he recognized himself in it," Watt added. "If he's feeling that way, imagine how I feel."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.

Cy Curnin of The Fixx

Cy Curnin of The FixxSongwriter Interviews

The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.

Glen Ballard

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Brenda Russell

Brenda RussellSongwriter Interviews

Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.