The song seems to be about getting off one's duff and making big things happen. It was released after Curt Smith walked out on the group, and the group's hard core fans were concerned that the album wouldn't match up to their previous work. This song was a significant success, but it was the last song by Tears for Fears to be a major hit.
Many of the songs on the album were influenced by Smith's departure. "A lot of the songs were written while I was in a sense going through the 'divorce,'" Orzabal told The Washington Post in 1993. "Things like 'Break It Down Again' refer to that to some degree, and 'Fish Out of Water,' obviously. I did psychotherapy for about six years. I stopped going regularly when I'd finished Elemental, which I think probably says something. I think I'm moving on." Smith returned to the band in 2004.
This was used in the 2013 romantic comedy The To Do List, starring Aubrey Plaza and Bill Hader.
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