The song is about a woman who is trapped in a relationship with a bullying, possessive man (similar to "Wildflower" by Skylark). The duo performed this song with Oleta Adams, who later went on to a successful solo career, scoring a huge hit in 1991 with "Get Here."
Tears for Fears lead singer Roland Orzabal told Melody Maker about this song: "I was reading some feminist literature at the time and I discovered that there are societies in the world still in existence today that are non-patriarchal. They don't have the man at the top and the women at the bottom. They're matricentric - they have the woman at the center and these societies are a lot less violent, a lot less greedy and there's generally less animosity... but the song is also about how men traditionally play down the feminine side of their characters and how both men and women suffer for it.... I think men in a patriarchal society are sold down the river a bit - okay, maybe we're told that we're in control but there are also a hell of a lot of things that we miss out on, which women are allowed to be."
Phil Collins played drums on this track. Because there are just two members in Tears For Fears, they rely on various guest musicians. When they were working on this song, they envisioned it with "Phil Collins drums." When thinking of who they could get to do it, they thought, how about Phil Collins?
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