Equipped with a sequencer, drum machine, synthesisers, and Cuccurullo's extensive guitar setup, the band, along with John Jones who joined later sessions, started composing and demoing songs.

[5] The writing process for "Ordinary World" began with Nick Rhodes playing chords that Warren Cuccurullo altered, leading Simon Le Bon to quickly develop the chorus melody.

Le Bon recorded the lead vocal while standing in the room with the rest of the band, creating a collaborative environment where harmonies and spontaneous ideas were sometimes incorporated.

Due to track limitations, Jones prepared by mixing the songs without the programmed drum parts and transferring them to an Akai DD1000 digital recorder synchronised with SMPTE timecode.

At Maison Rouge, they used a 24-track Dolby SR analogue tape striped with the same timecode, allowing Ferrone to record his live drum performances in perfect synchronisation with the existing tracks.

Despite multiple mixing attempts by Steve MacMillion in the US, Jones and Dee Long in the UK, and Queen's producer David Richards at Mountain Studios in Montreux, the band remained unsatisfied.

[7][8] Written by Simon Le Bon, the song reflects his emotional response to the death of his close friend David Miles, who passed away from a drug overdose in 1986.

[8] According to Al Melchior of American Songwriter, the lyrics express the depth of Le Bon's sorrow while maintaining a sense of hope for eventual healing.

[10] Structured with vivid imagery in the verses, an introspective pre-chorus, and a hopeful chorus, the song's lyrics progress through emotional stages of grief and resilience.

The opening lines "Came in from a rainy Thursday / On the avenue / Thought I heard you talking softly" set the song with vivid imagery of disorientation and longing.

[7] Melchior says that Le Bon uses this scene to depict a moment of emotional upheaval, attempting to ground himself by turning on "the lights, the TV, and the radio", only to admit that he "can't escape the ghost of you".

[7] Annie Zaleski of Ultimate Classic Rock interprets this as Le Bon recognising that "going back to how things used to be isn't possible" and focuses on a protagonist grappling with this irreversible change.

[9] The chorus reflects Le Bon's efforts to move forward, expressing a determination to rebuild his life despite the lingering pain: "But I won't cry for yesterday / There's an ordinary world / Somehow I have to find".

"[11] Zaleski describes Le Bon's voice in the chorus as "soaring with hope and optimism" as he resolves to find a way forward, emphasising the line, "I will learn to survive".

[7] In the second verse, Le Bon recalls a conversation with Miles, referencing past tensions between them:  "Pride's gone out the window / 'Cross the rooftops, gone away / Left me in the vacuum of my heart".

[7] Le Bon interprets these lines as situating personal grief within the context of global struggles, emphasising the shared human experience of loss.

"[12] Similarly, Taylor described the "ordinary world" as representing the innocence of childhood, explaining, "When you're a kid, the big philosophical questions are: 'Is it going to snow this Christmas and am I going to get what I want for my birthday?

"[13] The Independent described the track as "a classic of transcendent beauty,"[14] while Cathi Unsworth of Melody Maker characterized it as "sober, melancholy, and absurdly touching.

[20] In a retrospective review, Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic described it as having "a warm ballad feel," blending "elegant verses full of entrancing repeating-note hooks with a rousing chorus built on soaring runs of ascending notes."

[21] Directed by Nick Egan, the music video for "Ordinary World" was filmed at the Huntington Gardens in San Marino, California, just before Christmas.

[6] To achieve this, he gave the band an omnipresent, dreamlike role in the story of a couple's wedding day by projecting their performance footage onto the garden scenes.

[6] Other elements include the bride's reimagined tuxedo dress inspired by a Giorgio Armani fashion show, which Egan altered from black to white.

British electronic music group Aurora released a trance version of "Ordinary World" featuring Irish singer-songwriter Naimee Coleman in 2000.