The Player and The Played was a very fun song to write. Aside from the catchy chords and witty lines, it tells a story that intentionally has many gaps in it. It begins with the speaker drinking at a bar, when all of a sudden a woman walks in and "Everyone's words stop" (we don't know how true that is, but let's go along with the speaker's story). Then she grabs the chair beside the speaker, and keeps trying to engage him. Initially, the speaker has no interest, but suddenly he succumbs to it.