The song first appeared in live sets in April 1980, and was recorded in one or two takes with no demo. Lyrically, its theme is, "the loss of small pleasures in life for greater freedom". Author Walker said, "It's about someone who's on the skids, but still having a great time. I can relate to that - in the seven years Cold Chisel have been together, we've only had enough money to eat the last two and a half. If you get into that lifestyle and start to enjoy it, you tend to stay that way even when the money comes in."
