Lead singer Pat Monahan stated that the song was inspired by his late mother, who had died after a struggle with cancer, and that the opening lines "came to [him] in a dream".

I just couldn't figure out what to write, but then I woke up from a dream about a year after my mother passed away with the words 'back in the atmosphere'...It was just her way of saying what it was like – she was swimming through the planets and came to me with drops of Jupiter in her hair.

He sums up the review saying "add piano, a splendid orchestral backdrop, and a vocal shimmering with passion and personality, and this is a runaway track for Train".

[6][7] The song has sold and streamed over 7,000,000 units since its digital release in 2003, earning an eight-times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Clips of a woman performing various actions in various backgrounds related to the lyrics (e.g., Jupiter, holding her hands out in the rain) are inserted into various parts of the song.

The video was shot at Union Station in Los Angeles, and was directed by Nigel Dick with production design by Andrew Elias.