Games Without Frontiers (song)
Encyclopedia
"Games Without Frontiers" is a hit 1980 single by Peter Gabriel
, released on his third self-titled solo album. It features Kate Bush
on backing vocals and became his first UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #4. It ties with 1986's Sledgehammer
as his highest-charting song in the UK. It peaked at #48 in the U.S. The B-side to the single was two tracks combined into one: "Start" and "I Don't Remember".
, that featured teams competing for prizes in outlandish games of skill while frequently dressed in bizarre costumes. The British version of the show was called It's a Knockout
, a phrase that also appears in the song. The teams represented towns and cities from each country, so the games had an inevitable element of nationalism
. While some games were simple races, others allowed one team to obstruct another.
The lyrics are seen as a critique of nationalism and war
, which the song portrays as essentially childish and silly. The tag line of the song, "Games without frontiers, war without tears" is a comment on the sublimation of the rivalries within Europe, caused by centuries of war, in a meaningless and stupid game.
The name Lin Tai Yu
, which appears in the song, belongs to a character from the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber
.
Chiang Ching, another name mentioned, refers either to the wife of Chairman Mao
and a leader of the Cultural Revolution
or to Chiang Ching-kuo
, the son of Chiang Kai-shek
, who was president of Taiwan
at the time the song was written.
The end of the first verse refers to Hitler
and Enrico Fermi
: "Suki plays with Leo, Sacha plays with Brit; Adolf builds a bonfire, Enrico plays with it."
Hitler started World War II in Europe, while Fermi's nuclear reactor
enabled the nuclear weapons which contributed to the end of the war in Japan. Additionally, Sacha is a Russian nickname for Alexandr, while Brit refers to Great Britain which allied with Russia during World War II.
The album version of the song includes the line "Whistling tunes we piss on the goons in the jungle" before the second chorus. This was replaced for the single release with a more radio-friendly repeat of the line "Whistling tunes we're kissing baboons in the jungle" from the first chorus. The whistling is Gabriel along with producers Steve Lillywhite
and Hugh Padgham
.
Winter X Games XIII
introduced Gabriel and Lord Jamar
's remix of the song, redubbed "X Games Without Frontiers", which became the theme for subsequent games.
Programmable Drum Set, widely considered the first programmable drum machine
(it is not the Roland CR-78
, used by many of Gabriel's former Genesis
bandmates on both Genesis and solo albums). It also features the Moog
Model 15 small analog modular system for many of the synthesizer
sounds.
7" UK single (1980)
7" US & Canadian single (1980)
7" US single (1980)
12" UK single (1983)
German Version
7" German single (1980)
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, released on his third self-titled solo album. It features Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
on backing vocals and became his first UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #4. It ties with 1986's Sledgehammer
Sledgehammer (song)
"Sledgehammer" is a song by British musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album So. It hit number one in Canada on 21 July 1986 where it spent four weeks; number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States on 26 July 1986; and number four in the UK singles chart, thanks in part to a...
as his highest-charting song in the UK. It peaked at #48 in the U.S. The B-side to the single was two tracks combined into one: "Start" and "I Don't Remember".
Title and lyrics
The song's title comes from a European game show, Jeux Sans FrontièresJeux Sans Frontieres
Jeux Sans Frontières was a Europe-wide television game show.In its original conception, it was broadcast from 1965 to 1999 under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union and featured teams from different European countries in outlandish costumes competing to complete bizarre tasks in funny...
, that featured teams competing for prizes in outlandish games of skill while frequently dressed in bizarre costumes. The British version of the show was called It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout was adapted from the French show Intervilles. It ran between from 7 August 1966 to 25 December 1988 on BBC1, 28 May 1990 on ITV, 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C and from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001 on Channel 5, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment...
, a phrase that also appears in the song. The teams represented towns and cities from each country, so the games had an inevitable element of nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. While some games were simple races, others allowed one team to obstruct another.
The lyrics are seen as a critique of nationalism and war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, which the song portrays as essentially childish and silly. The tag line of the song, "Games without frontiers, war without tears" is a comment on the sublimation of the rivalries within Europe, caused by centuries of war, in a meaningless and stupid game.
The name Lin Tai Yu
Lin Daiyu
Lin Daiyu is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent and beautiful young woman. The romance between Daiyu and Jia Baoyu forms one of the main threads of the book...
, which appears in the song, belongs to a character from the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
.
Chiang Ching, another name mentioned, refers either to the wife of Chairman Mao
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
and a leader of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
or to Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...
, the son of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, who was president of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
at the time the song was written.
The end of the first verse refers to Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
: "Suki plays with Leo, Sacha plays with Brit; Adolf builds a bonfire, Enrico plays with it."
Hitler started World War II in Europe, while Fermi's nuclear reactor
Chicago Pile-1
Chicago Pile-1 was the world's first man-made nuclear reactor. CP-1 was built on a rackets court, under the abandoned west stands of the original Alonzo Stagg Field stadium, at the University of Chicago. The first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated in CP-1 on December 2, 1942...
enabled the nuclear weapons which contributed to the end of the war in Japan. Additionally, Sacha is a Russian nickname for Alexandr, while Brit refers to Great Britain which allied with Russia during World War II.
The album version of the song includes the line "Whistling tunes we piss on the goons in the jungle" before the second chorus. This was replaced for the single release with a more radio-friendly repeat of the line "Whistling tunes we're kissing baboons in the jungle" from the first chorus. The whistling is Gabriel along with producers Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...
and Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
.
Winter X Games XIII
Winter X Games XIII
Winter X Games XIII were held from January 22 to January 25, 2009 in Aspen, Colorado. They were the 8th consecutive Winter X Games to be held in Aspen...
introduced Gabriel and Lord Jamar
Lord Jamar
Lord Jamar is an American emcee and actor. He is a member of the hip-hop group Brand Nubian, which formed in 1989. As an actor, he is best known for his role of Supreme Allah on the TV series Oz. He has appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Third Watch, and The Sopranos...
's remix of the song, redubbed "X Games Without Frontiers", which became the theme for subsequent games.
Music
This song features the PAiA ElectronicsPAiA Electronics
PAiA Electronics, Inc. is an American synthesizer kit company that was started by John Simonton in 1967. It sells various musical electronics kits including analog synthesizers, theremins, mixers and various music production units designed by founder John Simonton, Craig Anderton, Marvin Jones,...
Programmable Drum Set, widely considered the first programmable drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
(it is not the Roland CR-78
Roland CR-78
The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time...
, used by many of Gabriel's former Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
bandmates on both Genesis and solo albums). It also features the Moog
Moog Music
Moog Music is an American company based in Asheville, North Carolina which manufactures electronic musical instruments. The current Moog Music is the second company to trade under that name.-R.A. Moog Co. and the original Moog Music:...
Model 15 small analog modular system for many of the synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
sounds.
Single
English Version7" UK single (1980)
- "Games Without Frontiers"
- "Start/I Don't Remember"
7" US & Canadian single (1980)
- "Games Without Frontiers" - (3:47)
- "Lead A Normal Life" - (3:42)
7" US single (1980)
- "Games Without Frontiers (Mono)" - (3:45)
- "Games Without Frontiers (Stereo)" - (3:45)
12" UK single (1983)
- "Games Without Frontiers"
- "Schnappschuss (Ein Familienfoto)"
German Version
7" German single (1980)
- "Spiel Ohne Grenzen (Games Without Frontiers)" - (4:07)
- "Jetzt Kommt Die Flut (Here Comes The Flood)" - (4:57)