According to Sheryl Crow, the song was written in 1992 after the results of the presidential election were announced, marking the transition "from conservative George H. W. Bush to young, unconventional, good-looking Bill Clinton.

"[2] The song describes a young woman born on November 22, 1963, "the day Aldous Huxley died" (whom Crow calls a "literary spokesperson of the 1960s").

[3] She grew up in a conservative social structure (where people "talk of better days"), yet her parents are hippies: her mother experiments with drugs while her father is a political activist.

[3] As a result, she feels caught between generations and has learned from her parents' example to run away from problems or from people getting too close to her.

"[5] Alan Jones from Music Week wrote, "An impressive debut for Ms Crow on a track that smacks of the Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and "Old Brown Shoe" in parts.

[13] In January 1996, the track experienced a surge of popularity on Canadian adult contemporary radio, eventually peaking at No.