Games Without Frontiers (3:57)

243,761 plays (72,020 listeners)

Send Ringtones to Cell

Buy at Amazon MP3 ($0.99)

Download Track
Amazon MP3 ($0.99)

7digital ($0.77)

iTunes ($0.99)

Add to my Library Share More

“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. The song also peaked at #48 in the U.S. It ties with 1986’s Sledgehammer as his highest-charting song in the UK. 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 Frontières, that featured teams competing for prizes while 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. 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 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.

Tagged as:

rock, progressive rock, 80s, peter gabriel, classic rock
See more…

Video

Added by gazsmash

Hans plays with lotte, lotte plays with jane
Jane plays with willi, willi is happy again
Suki plays with leo, sacha plays with britt
Adolf builts a bonfire, enrico plays with it
-whistling tunes we…

Share Video

Flag as incorrect

See 6 more

Related Tracks

Biko
Peter Gabriel
71 shouts
Shock the Monkey
Peter Gabriel
83 shouts
Turn It On Again
Genesis
106 shouts
Abacab
Genesis
76 shouts
Owner Of A Lonely Heart
Yes
480 shouts
Kayleigh
Marillion
300 shouts

Albums featuring this track

Shaking The Tree
Peter Gabriel
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $34.85
- eBay Search
Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats
Peter Gabriel
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $183.14
- eBay Search
Peter Gabriel (Melt)
Peter Gabriel
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital $7.77
- iTunes $9.90
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search

See all 25 albums

Shouts

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

porcelina1409 wrote:
18 days ago

heard this song in Forever 21 of all places, and have been a fan since

View Profile | Leave porcelina1409 a shout
Crush1800 wrote:
25 days ago

One of the better musicians in the world today! Love his solo stuff, and when he did "THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY". PEACE

View Profile | Leave Crush1800 a shout
RARAM2 wrote:
November 2009

a truly beautiful song...gotta hear this tune from time to time

View Profile | Leave RARAM2 a shout
DrKeys522 wrote:
October 2009

Love this track.

View Profile | Leave DrKeys522 a shout
Shmaughn wrote:
October 2009

srsly tho: she is so fucking gay.

View Profile | Leave Shmaughn a shout
CyclopsEyeMusic wrote:
October 2009

Gabriel in general is guilty of "actually expanded...paradigm(s)" all over the place.

View Profile | Leave CyclopsEyeMusic a shout
timelapses wrote:
October 2009

I was about 10 when I first heard this song...and the 'otherness' of it actually expanded my paradigm...grateful for that!

View Profile | Leave timelapses a shout
Northernwaste wrote:
October 2009

this song has been my ringtone for over a year and I never get sick of it

View Profile | Leave Northernwaste a shout
Rozzen wrote:
September 2009

oh wow i thought he was saying she's so popular until reading these comments

View Profile | Leave Rozzen a shout
Rozzen wrote:
September 2009

this might be the catchiest song ever

View Profile | Leave Rozzen a shout
julio641 wrote:
September 2009

this is a great song

View Profile | Leave julio641 a shout
victorfreitas wrote:
September 2009

Jeux sans frontieres, i understood something else too!

View Profile | Leave victorfreitas a shout
victorfreitas wrote:
September 2009

awesome

View Profile | Leave victorfreitas a shout
minor-threat wrote:
August 2009

I thought it said "She's so fucking gay" Man I was wrong.

View Profile | Leave minor-threat a shout
artgeek707 wrote:
August 2009

If looks could kill they probably will

View Profile | Leave artgeek707 a shout
PmF wrote:
August 2009

Hahahaha, back when I was younger, I thought it was "She's so funky" than "Jeux sans frontieres".

View Profile | Leave PmF a shout
Pondybolk wrote:
August 2009

Hated it in High School. I appreciate him more now that I'm an old man.

View Profile | Leave Pondybolk a shout
LucaBrasiXL wrote:
August 2009

Adolph builds a bonfire... Enrique plays with it...

View Profile | Leave LucaBrasiXL a shout
chicknfried wrote:
August 2009

wouldnt it be great if you could somehow plug into the music peter gabriel hears in his head every day ?

View Profile | Leave chicknfried a shout
DEK78 wrote:
July 2009

Ha!! Clarkson is the number one fan. Think James May is playing the keyboard LOL!!

View Profile | Leave DEK78 a shout