[3] Michielin explained the lyrical content of "Nessun grado di separazione" in several interviews, claiming that the song is inspired by the six degrees of separation theory and contains the message that, "despite all of the cultural differences, there shouldn't be distances between people".

Particularly, the composition's verses, biographical and introspective, tell the story of "a girl who lives in a drawer [...] together with all her crumpled dreams, and who, at a certain point, finds the courage to come out from that shelter to face the true life", with the will to open herself to the outside world, overcoming fears and preconceptions.

[4][5] Michielin also added that she recorded background vocals for the track on the same day of the November 2015 Paris attacks, therefore she was furthermore inspired to reflect on the song's lyrics and on "all the barriers that exist between people, while the truth is that we are all human beings with dreams and hopes".

[6] On 13 December 2015, during Massimo Giletti's TV show L'arena, Carlo Conti announced the list of performers and songs selected to compete in the 66th Sanremo Music Festival, which included Francesca Michielin's "Nessun grado di separazione".

[10][11] On 14 March 2016, a bilingual version of "Nessun grado di separazione", titled "No Degree of Separation", was announced as Michielin's entry for the contest.