Blur's self-titled fifth album (1997) saw another stylistic shift, influenced by the lo-fi styles of American indie rock groups, and became their third UK chart-topping album. Its single "Song 2" brought the band mainstream success in the US for the first time. Their next album, 13 (1999) saw the band experimenting with electronic and gospel music, and featured more personal lyrics from Albarn. Their seventh album, Think Tank (2003), continued their experimentation with electronic sounds and was also shaped by Albarn's growing interest in hip hop and world music, featuring more minimal guitar work. Coxon left the band during early recording sessions for Think Tank, and Blur disbanded for several years after the end of the album's associated tour, with the members engaged in other projects.
In 2009, Blur reunited with Coxon back in the band and embarked on a European reunion tour. In the following years, they released several singles and compilations and toured internationally. In 2012, they received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Their eighth album, The Magic Whip (2015), was the sixth consecutive Blur studio album to top the British chart. The group have largely been on hiatus since the Magic Whip tour, but have announced plans to reunite in 2023 for various live dates.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blur_(band)
Studio albums
Leisure (1991)
Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993)
Parklife (1994)
The Great Escape (1995)
Blur (1997)
13 (1999)
Think Tank (2003)
The Magic Whip (2015)
The Ballad of Darren (2023)
There's No Other Way
Blur Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're making me run, when I don't wanna think
You're taking the fun out of everything
I don't wanna think at all
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
You're taking the fun out of everything
You're making it clear, when I don't wanna think
You're taking me up, when I don't wanna go up anymore
I'm just watching it all
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
I'll watch you play
I'll watch you play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
The song "There's No Other Way" by Blur is a song about someone who is being forced to participate in something they don't want to partake in. The lyrics talk about how this person is being made to do something they don't want to do, and it's ruining the fun for them. They feel like they're being pushed too hard, and they just want to watch others play instead. The repetition of "There's no other way" throughout the song emphasizes the idea that sometimes we have to accept what's happening and just watch things play out.
The line "You're taking me up, when I don't wanna go up anymore" can be interpreted in a few different ways. It could refer to someone who is being pushed too hard to succeed or climb the social ladder when they'd rather just stay where they are. Alternatively, it could be a reference to drug use, as the phrase "getting high" is often used to describe the feeling of being intoxicated.
Line by Line Meaning
You're taking the fun out of everything
You're ruining all the joy in my life
You're making me run, when I don't wanna think
You're forcing me to act without giving me time to contemplate
I don't wanna think at all
I don't want to have to use my brain
There's no other way
There is only one solution
All that you can do is watch them play
You have no power to change the situation, only to observe
You're making it clear, when I don't wanna think
You're providing clarity when I'd rather not have it
You're taking me up, when I don't wanna go up anymore
You're pushing me to a higher level when I just want to stay where I am
I'm just watching it all
I'm just observing what's happening without actively participating
I'll watch you play
I'll observe you without interfering
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Steven Alexander James, David Rowntree, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Oscuros
Why are the yanks dancing around the fact that they could not handle the original version as "too controversial" for their puritanical, wholesome tastes in 1991?
You guy don't remember what total dweebs they were back then, i mean, shit, even online they still struggle to just write "fuck" out.
Fuck your lame seizure jokes, your studio and A&R heads decided you couldn't handle non-conventional family depictions on music videos and were really scared you'd act it out, which is pretty true, but reasons why, even 30 years ago we all used to laugh at how fucking weird you all are, always needing special versions of everything, always watered down and shit, like your version of the Office.
I don't get why people can't just call a spade a spade around Yanks and everyone needs to say dumb shit around it instead. They have massive sticks up their arses, they still do.
Look how we have the Archbishop of Canterbury living here, the head of the Church of England, not spoken out about abortion once.
You're all just retarded, too retarded even for that old Blur video. That's why the rest of the world had no problem with the original, but you needed a special version, so you didn't all spree shoot each other over Sunday dinner from watching it, face it, dumbasses; just like we have to about you every day on the news.
dj scary gary
You're taking the fun out of everything
You're making me run, when I don't want to think
You're taking the fun out of everything
I don't want to think at all
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
You're taking the fun out of everything
You're making it clear, when I don't want to think
You're taking me up, when I don't want to go up anymore
I'm just watching it all
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
I'll watch you play
I'll watch you play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
There's no other way
There's no other way
All that you can do is watch them play
vivi pla
In this video Damon looks so androgynous, look at that beautiful face
audacy
i need his gender, i am going to steal it from him
Carlos Ruiz
so it turns out that this was Kurt Cobain's favorite british song lol
K-leb
What a waste of a pick. There's so many better British songs, even by just Blur themselves.
Mikey Modelle
English song 🏴😉
Crack Er
@Kaori Kanzaki why
Kaori Kanzaki
It's kind of ironic because Damon hated grunge scene lol.
Crack Er
@Erica what
The Music Experience
This is one reason i love, Youtube, the things you find. Never knew there was a U.S version of this
Sharl Jones
@Max Cruickshank I agree with you and I am a “Brit” too!