This is Townsend's personally felt lament to the way a decline in a couple's sex life so often leads to the overall decline and disintegration of the relationship. He tells of it primarily from the point of view of the man, whose libido and performance both tend to diminish with age.
The Who was still active when Pete Townshend recorded the All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes album - he snuck it in between sessions for the Who albums Face Dances (1981) and It's Hard (1982). Townshend's marriage was on the rocks at the time, which influenced this song. He and his wife Karen ended up getting back together; they divorced in 2009.
The opening lines reflect the turmoil Townshend had been going through: I was just 34 years old and I was still wandering in a haze I was wondering why everyone I met seemed like they were Lost in a maze Townshend was 34 years old in 1979, which is when his drinking became a problem. The Who looked like they were going to break up, which triggered his alcoholism. After finally getting sober in 1981, Townshend realized he was using booze (and later, drugs) to deal with his problems instead of facing them head on.
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