"Just A Game", or "Here I Stand, All Alone Again", is a formerly unidentified AOR song recorded and released by the band, "Change To Win" in 1988. The song was first uploaded onto WatZatSong by a user named "Gabor72" on December 22nd, 2018. The song was solved and verified by the band on July 1st, 2024.
The song was originally made for a German Charity named "Menschen für Menschen" (People For People) for the starving children in Africa as a fundraiser. The singers are Mario Lehner, Regina Simon, and Karli Mayer. The single release also has a B-side, which is called "A Chance To Change". To this day, it is currently unknown how Gabor had managed to obtain the song.
Search History
On December 22nd, 2018, a WatZatSong user with the alias Gabor72 had uploaded a partial sample of the song, with the song being categorized as Rock and English. They didn’t provide any information about the song, and the snippet was only 30 seconds, the maximum length for a WZS post, and Gabor went inactive before posting the full song.
The snippet of the song only became the most popular through late 2023 and early 2024 by a YouTube upload by user, alonzooop. Alonzooop used a stock image of an Orange Dude beside 2 dice, which would end up becoming the main associate for the song. The video has achieved more than 600k views.
On December 9th, 2023, a Subreddit search hub for the song, r/NowIKnowItsJustAGame was created.
On May 6th, 2024, an unknown user reverse image searched Gabor’s profile picture. This led to them discovering that the OP of the song, Gabor72, passed away. It has been proven from his Facebook profile, with his wife posting a death certificate of him, according to a Reddit post.[1]
On May 12th, 2024, Reddit user Rich-Truck-2820 got in contact with Gabor's daughter through email and said that she would help to find the song.[2] She also claimed that Gabor never owned any vinyls regarding the snippet, but that it may have been downloaded online or was recorded off of an Italian or Hungarian radio station between 1985 and 1996, as Gabor was a fan of Italian music.[3]
On June 30th, 2024, the full version was found by Gabor’s daughter, Dorka and posted to Google Drive. The song was mislabeled as Der G.E.R.D. - Just A Game.
Later that day, a copyright entry for a song titled Just A Game (Here I Stand, All Alone Again) by Christof Bachmeier was found by user Cubing Crusader. The song was assumed to be the same song, due to the title, similar runtime, and the alternate title being the first line in the song. User PersonOfDistraction found other music by Christof, the style and vocals sounded similar, causing the song to be considered nearly solved.
On July 1st, user Kutsu contacted Christof, who confirmed he was the artist behind the song. He said the song was made in 1988 along with his band, Change To Win. On July 2nd, more information surrounding "Change To Win" would be told by Christof himself. He said the song was made for a charity concert in Africa, 500 copies of the song were made, but only ~200-300 were sold.[4]
On July 8th, Christof posted a video about the song to his YouTube channel, including footage of Mario recording the chorus in the studio and full HQ audio of the song.
Old Leads and Theories
It may have been that the song originated from the obscure band "Millenya" from Norway. The user who claims to own the band's disc, the Discogs owners, and the supposed members of the band have been contacted. On the next day, it was confirmed that the "Millenya" theory was debunked, as they did not make it.
Another theory emerged that it's by the Canadian band The Answer as they have a song named "Just A Game". The lead was debunked as the song was found.
On June 5th, 2024, a Reddit user claimed to have contacted the potential creator of the song. At the time, the likelihood of the claim being a hoax increased, due to the email not being opened. It would end up being false due to the song being solved now.
During the month of June, various people would post the "full song" on the Subreddit, claiming that they had found the full song. It was only later confirmed that the song was made by AI along with the song being supposedly made by the band named The Flower Band, but was proven false as the original image was just fan made.
Presumed lyrics
[Verse 1: Christof Bachmeier]
Here I stand all alone again
Now I realize the signs are pushed away
A thousand times I tried to remind myself
To live for the moment, be happy with me
[Pre-Chorus: Christof Bachmeier]
But I lost the chance 'cause it didn't heed to my heart
And it hurts so much to feel everything has gone
[Verse 2: Regina Simon]
Let's make a new start,
Lets realize would we do it?
Not the money, or the power
Will catch you when you fall
See the children in the desert
See their hopeless desperate eyes
Ask the father what he feels
When his hungry baby cries
[Pre-Chorus: Regina Simon]
But I lost the chance 'cause you tried to get it all
And you won't understand until your back is to the wall
[Chorus: Mario Lehner]
And now I know it's just a game
And I don't need the rules to play
Maybe it's happy, maybe it's sad
But you can choose the way to play
And now I know it's just a game
And I don't need the rules to play
Maybe it's happy, maybe it's sad
But you can choose the way to play
[Verse 3: Karli Mayer]
Dead or alive, that's the best route up to the top
We got all we want, but we got no time to live
Oh, we don't care about the real things in life
While they kill ourselves
For a little bit of printed paper or gold
[Pre-Chorus: Karli Mayer]
And we won't understand until my back is to the wall
[Chorus: All Vocalists]
And now I know it's just a game
And I don't need the rules to play
Maybe it's happy, maybe it's sad
But you can choose the way to play
And now I know it's just a game
And I don't need the rules to play
Maybe it's happy, maybe it's sad
But you can choose the way to play
-Oh
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Final Chorus: All Vocalists]
And now I know it's just a game
And I don't need the rules to play
Maybe it's happy, maybe it's sad
But you can (choose) you can
And now I know (yes, now we know) it's just a game
And I don't need the rules to play
Maybe it's happy, maybe it's sad
But you can choose the way to play
And now I know it's just a game (Oh now I know)
And I don't need the rules to play (It's just a game)
Maybe it's happy, maybe it's sad
But you can choose the way to play
And now I know it's just a game
And I don't need the rules to play
Maybe it's happy (oh it's sad, so sad) maybe it's sad
(But you can choose the way to play)
[Outro: All Vocalists]
Ohh, yeah
I need no rules to play
Oh, rules to play
I don't need no rules to play
To play
No rules to play
(Need no rules)
Associated Images
.jpeg "JAG dude (shades edition).jpeg (643 KB)")
_It%27s_Just_A_Game.png "(Now I Know) It's Just A Game.png (774 KB)")
External links
- Original WatZatSong post.
- Video of a presumed speed-corrected audio version.
- mufasafum's upload
- Google Drive full version upload.
- Discogs page.