Following the premature death of their younger brother Andy Gibb in 1988, the Bee Gees dedicated this song and their new album to him.

[1] Scott Glasel recalled that "Ordinary Lives" was started before Andy died, but as completed it seems to be a philosophical comment on life and death.

The rhythm has some similarity to "You Win Again" and may have been a deliberate attempt to follow it up, but it has many new features, including the brief spoken word parts and the existential musings of the lyrics, something often associated with Robin but clearly here coming from Barry.

[citation needed] The music video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles, California and received heavy airplay from 1989 to 1990.

It shows the Bee Gees and their backing band consisting of Alan Kendall (guitar), with guests Nathan East (bass), and Alex Acuña (drums) in a dark studio performing the song, intersped with scenes of everyday life and an archival footage of the 1929 Wall Street crash.