Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks recorded his first solo album, A Curious Feeling, when the band was taking some time off in 1979. It's a concept album about a guy who is going insane. In our interview with Banks, he explained where "For a While" fits in: "There's a particular point in the song where he knows he's about to lose some of his memory and faculties and everything, and he's just reflecting on how it is for him, and also, for his young lady, and how it affects her," he said. "It's a sort of sad song in a way, and out of context, it doesn't make quite as much sense."

The singer on this track and the others from the album is Kim Beacon, who was previously with the band String Driven Thing.