{"id":6137,"date":"2021-12-06T14:50:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T14:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/?p=6137"},"modified":"2025-11-01T14:05:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T14:05:34","slug":"what-is-the-meaning-behind-player-of-games-by-grimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/what-is-the-meaning-behind-player-of-games-by-grimes\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the meaning behind \u201cPlayer of Games\u201d by \u201cGrimes\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Grimes recently released a new song called <em>Player of Games<\/em>, that sounds both digital and futuristic, as well as reminds people of 00\u2019s trance. But<em> <\/em>what\u2019s the meaning behind it? Here\u2019s my interpretation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those who haven\u2019t heard it, here\u2019s the music video with lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p class=\"responsive-video-wrap clr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Grimes - Player of Games (Lyric Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PlVmkBjSYeA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similar: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/the-meaning-behind-bad-habits-by-ed-sheeran\/\">What is the Meaning Behind \u201cBad Habits\u201d by Ed Sheeran<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lyrics to \u201cPlayer of Games\u201d by \u201cGrimes\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Baby<br>Would you still love me<br>Out on Europa<br>Or will you forget?<br>Baby<br>How can I compare<br>To the adventure out there?<\/p><p>Sail away<br>To the cold expanse of space<br>Even love<br>Couldn&#8217;t keep you in your place<br>Why can&#8217;t you love me<br>Like that?<br>Why can&#8217;t you need me<br>Like that?<\/p><p>If I loved him any less<br>I&#8217;d make him stay<br>But he has to be the best<br>Player of games<br>If I loved him any less<br>I&#8217;d make him stay<br>Player of games<br>Player of games<\/p><p>Player of games<br>Player of games<br>Player of gam\u0435s<br>Player of games<\/p><p>I&#8217;m in love<br>With th\u0435 greatest gamer<br>But he&#8217;ll always love the game<br>More than he loves me<\/p><p>Sail away<br>To the cold expanse of space<br>Even love<br>Couldn&#8217;t keep you in your place<br>Can&#8217;t you love me like that?<br>Can&#8217;t you need me like that?<\/p><p>If I loved him any less<br>I&#8217;d make him stay<br>But he has to be the best<br>Player of games<br>If I loved him any less<br>I&#8217;d make him stay<br>Player of games<br>Player of games<\/p><p>Player of games<br>Player of games<br>Player of games<br>Player of games<\/p><cite><a href=\"https:\/\/www.musixmatch.com\/\">Musixmatch<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meaning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some relevant background information on Grimes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grimes was up until recently together with <a href=\"https:\/\/sv.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elon_Musk\">Elon Musk<\/a>, an entrepreneur (CEO of Tesla) who is also a huge space-enthusiast. He is currently one of the biggest proponents of space traveling and seems obsessed with his dreams of reaching Mars and bringing humankind to space. In earlier interviews, it seems clear that he works extremely much to achieve his visions, although he at the same time do seem to value long-term relationships and love. They also recently had a son together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-pale-cyan-blue-color has-text-color wp-block-paragraph\">I think, based on these happenings in her life, this song is about her relationship with Elon Musk and why it ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When she sings \u201cHow can I compare, to the adventures out there\u201d, and \u201cSail away to the cold expanse of space, even love couldn\u2019t keep you in your place\u201d, I think it\u2019s pretty clear that she\u2019s talking about how Elon Musk is so invested in his space-adventures that nothing could keep him back. Not even Grimes or their love. This becomes extra clear when she sings \u201cBut he\u2019ll always love the game more than he loves me\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, she sings \u201cOut on Europa\u201d, which probably refers to <em>the Europa<\/em>, one of Jupiter\u2019s moons. Because during 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/nasa-gives-spacex-europa-clipper-launch-contract-jupiter-moon-mission-2021-7?r=US&amp;IR=T\">NASA selected Space X <\/a>(Elon Musk\u2019s company) to launch a journey towards The Europa. I don\u2019t think it could be any clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I also think it\u2019s beautiful how she sings \u201cIf I loved him any less, I\u2019d make him stay\u201d. I interpret this as her way of saying that she truly loves him and she doesn\u2019t want to restrict him, or try to hold on to him and make him prioritize her before his space adventures. Because doing so would take away from who he is, and take away from his passions. And because she truly loves him, she\u2019s letting him go so that he can keep playing his games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Music Video Meaning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the <em>Player of Games<\/em> music video embedded above, you can see Grimes holding onto a fully armored knight. But she\u2019s also naked and is holding a big blade behind her back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One way of interpreting this is that while she\u2019s entrusting him (the Knight, or Elon Musk), she\u2019s still strong in herself and ready to stand up for herself if needed. So she isn\u2019t helpless, and she won\u2019t be helpless even when\/if they separate, although she is vulnerable with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some people in the YouTube comments seem to think that she\u2019s holding the knife to protect herself from <em>him<\/em>. But I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, an interesting comment mentioned how the full armor may represent how Elon Musk isn\u2019t fully vulnerable or open with her. And he\u2019s always in character, playing his game (space adventures), and occupied with it. While, she is there, being fully vulnerable, but unable to fully reach him through is armor. And the strong knight in full armor wouldn\u2019t really <em>need<\/em> or be dependent on the girl, which can be linked the the part where she sings \u201cWhy can\u2019t you <em>need<\/em> me like that?\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Obviously, these are just my interpretations! But regardless of the true meaning of the song, I really enjoyed it. I think it sounds like a good club\/dance song, and the visuals are absolutely <em>gorgeous<\/em>. I understand why people call her music and style <em>etherea<\/em>l.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grimes recently released a new song called Player of Games, that sounds both futuristic, and like 00\u2019s trance. But what\u2019s the meaning behind it? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[459,461,453],"class_list":["post-6137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-electronic-music-en","tag-grimes-en","tag-music-en","entry","has-media"],"gutentor_comment":0,"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A.png",2560,1440,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A-1536x864.png",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A-2048x1152.png",2048,1152,true],"ocean-thumb-m":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A.png",600,338,false],"ocean-thumb-ml":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A.png",800,450,false],"ocean-thumb-l":["https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/563C645A-E147-403B-B1CD-551E489FA96A.png",1200,675,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Wendy Zhou","author_link":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/author\/wendy1111live-se\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Grimes recently released a new song called Player of Games, that sounds both futuristic, and like 00\u2019s trance. But what\u2019s the meaning behind it?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6137"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6163,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6137\/revisions\/6163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendyzhou.se\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}