[7] The song originated in 1979 from South African musician, singer-songwriter, and producer Trevor Rabin; while going to the toilet, he wrote "the whole thing, from beginning to end".

[11] After relocating to Los Angeles in 1981, Rabin added the song to his collection of demos that he wished to develop for a fourth solo album.

Rabin said Fair called "Owner of a Lonely Heart" "a game changer" and offered him an album deal on the strength of it.

By January 1983, most of the backing tracks and vocals for the Cinema album had been recorded, but an additional song was needed.

While Rabin was on a toilet break, Horn left his demo tape running and heard his version of "Owner of a Lonely Heart".

[13] However, he recognised the "powerful" introduction with its "snap jump cut" into the main riff, plus its strong chorus hook, as a hit single.

[15] Horn recalled pleading with the band to record it on the grounds that they needed a hit single, despite the group's reluctance.

Subsequent musical and lyrical changes were then made by Horn and Squire, and for several days the group attempted to perform it.

Horn was dissatisfied with the addition of various drum fills and superfluous sections, and suggested they record it "straight and simple" without changing the original riff.

[19][20][21] Chris Squire's bass guitar parts were played on his custom-built Electra MPC Outlaw - making use of two of its plug-in features (the octave box and the phaser)[19] - run through a 100-watt Marshall amplifier: "I used the MPC with the built-in octave drop, which gives you a sub bass frequency.

[24] Atlantic president Ahmet Ertegun liked a mix that Horn had made, and decreed that Rabin's idea for a big drum sound would not be used.

According to musician Questlove, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" contained the first use of a sample as a breakbeat, as opposed to a sound effect.

As a cheeky riposte, Horn and Langan added a gunshot sound effect immediately following that verse, thereby "shooting down" the eagle.

Rabin recently clarified his view on the breakdown of credit and royalties: "Jon did add to my lyrics in the verses and deserved what he got, as did Chris.

[31] Cash Box said that "Horn constructs an instrumental intro segment of discrete drumrolls, fuzz guitar phrases, and scratched-in brass and synth flourishes and then uses these and other elements to punctuate Jon Anderson’s fluid depiction of the title subject" and that the song "is built upon a steady dance beat, which brings [Yes] solidly into the ’80s.

"[32] The song's music video was shown frequently on MTV,[33] introducing the revamped Yes lineup and sound to a new generation of fans largely unfamiliar with the band's earlier progressive rock style.

It features a high-concept storyline involving a man arrested by implied to be secret police and taken in for interrogation.

After climbing to freedom at the top of the tower he is confronted by several men (played by the band) and eventually leaps off the building, transforming to a bird of prey.