Album: Dream Into Action (1985)

Charted: 16 4

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• You can look at the menu, but you just can't eat
  You can feel the cushions, but you can't have a seat
  You can dip your foot in the pool, but you can't have a swim
  You can feel the punishment, but you can't commit the sin
  
  And you want her, and she wants you
  We want everyone
  And you want her and she wants you
  No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
  
  You can build a mansion, but you just can't live in it
  You're the fastest runner but you're not allowed to win
  Some break the rules, and let you count the cost
  The insecurity is the thing that won't get lost
  
  And you want her, and she wants you
  We want everyone
  And you want her and she wants you
  No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
  
  You can see the summit but you can't reach it
  It's the last piece of the puzzle but you just can't make it fit
  Doctor says you're cured but you still feel the pain
  Aspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drain
  
  And you want her, and she wants you
  We want everyone
  And you want her and she wants you
  No one, no one, no one ever is to blame
  
  No one ever is to blame
  No one ever is to blame Writer/s: Howard Jones
  Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 10

• Pj In Kc from Kansas CityI loved a girl and she loved me. But we were both married and had families of our own. And we both knew that it could never be. This song sums up every feeling I had back then. And I to this day, I think of that girl every time I hear it. Aspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drain.
• Mark CouchI prefer the first version myself, and as Howard said the song means many different things to many people. For me it means living a sheltered life, and not getting to explore the outside world, and being confused about your sexuality. Knowing what your parents would say, and finally breaking Away From all the madness and craziness, just to find out you have to do everything that you relied on your parents to do, and finding out you don't know how to pay rent, electric, or learning how to cook. Yep been there done that. Howard thank you for writing such a beautiful and moving song.
• Cp from BostonThis song is about the fact attraction is not a choice . It’s a response that is baked into our DNA.
  
  In today’s society we are often programmed to be with one person , sometimes for life . People of course ..continue to struggle with this bc I would agrue it’s not only un-natural but they may have guilt for the attraction.
  
  It’s natural , it’s normal and nobody’s fault .
• Gabriel from 96007Huh. Wow. Well that's funny.
  I always thought the lyrics went
  And you want her,
  And she wants him,
  We all want everyone
  
  And he wants her
  And she wants him
  No one no one no one ever is to blame.
  
  So I thought the song meant that it's no one's fault that the girl you want wants someone else and you can't blame him for wanting her because you do as well.
  But no one to blame, nobody fault
  
  But what I thought made the song special was if you think about the lyrics there is one to blame and that is yourself. So bad luck for you, instead of the girl, you got the fault. And their is nothing you can do about it, it's not their fault.
  That would have been a good sad song.
  But now I don't like it because it makes no sense.
• Suddenlysara from DenverI agree with another lady who said it so much better than I can but I’m giving it a try . I always thought it meant that he wants her ( you,me) and she (you,me) wants him so terribly bad in-fact it could even be these two people are in love . Somehow there are untold or unexplainable reasons why these two people who so clearly were made for each other can’t be together inspire or how awful and badly they so wish to be together .
• Stu from Upper Hutt, NzlThis song helped ME when I faced a very difficult time, after a strange result from a sporting event - I was in college, the last year where sports was compulsory. I ran a race and WON! But the teacher at the finish line didn't like that result, so we ran again. So I like (and can relate to) the part of the song that is "you're the fastest runner, but you're not allowed to win", that literally happened to me. I came to terms with it, six years later, when I heard this song. It made sense then.
• Angus from Ottawa, CanadaIt's funny, but I discovered this on a tape released by Amnesty International. It had tracks on it that AI would have been interested in, like Sting's Strange Fruit and Peter Gabriel's Biko, but why this one is less obvious.
• Peter Steele from Medicine Hat Ab, AbCarrie, I agree! This is my number one favorite song of the 1980's..... I play this in my car over and over when I am driving...I love the spicy little drum beat at the beginning of each stanza and the piano finale..."last piece of the puzzle but you just can't make it fit" FABULOUS LINE! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SONG, IT'S MY NUMBER 3 SONG OF ALL TIME
• Tim from Laguna Beach, CaI totally agree. This is a great song. The piano "lick" after the last "...no one is to blame" of the chorus speaks to the heart as much as the lyrics do. I was always a big fan of "HoJo"
• Carrie from Roanoke, VaI just love this song. I can't believe no one has commented on it! The instrumentals are beautiful, and the lyrics are spot on! They really speak to the issue of being interested in someone else besides your romantic partner. "You can feel the punishment but you can't commit the sin" refers to the guilt we experience when we're tempted by other people. This has become my theme song.

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