of 17 to enroll in "the school of hard knocks," Stapp said, and it was in the latter days during this education that Stapp decided he would "take responsibility" for his actions. Stapp said the song relates to his discovery that he "couldn't blame others for the walls constricting my life. 'My Own Prison' was the consequences for my bad decisions. It was my own fault that I did shitty in school, that I got fired from my job, that I was living in my car. I had to grow up." Stapp also said in his memoir that his Christian upbringing played a huge part in inspiring him to write the song due to the guilt that he felt from not measuring up to the God presented to him by his father and the rebellion that followed in his teenage years. He felt it was both logical and amazing that his experiences came out in the form of a rock song. Logical in that his view, music is rebellious in its very nature, and that rock is rooted in challenging the rules and social norms of the previous generation. But amazing because in spite of this rebellion, the song confirmed to Stapp that it was "the Man on the cross, the Lion of Judah, who held the key to my freedom". Stapp felt that the song was the most significant metaphor for his life in that it was with the band from the beginning and would prove prophetic in the decades that followed. The song is written in the key of F major, and begins with a somber tone led by guitarist Tremonti, who plays in drop D tuning. The pre-chorus sees Tremonti share vocal duties with Stapp as Tremonti sings the main lyrics while Stapp sings "And I said oh" on backing vocals. As the tension and intensity build, Stapp powers the back half of the song with his vocal work at the beginning of the chorus, where he sings, "Should have been dead on a Sunday morning, banging my head, No time for mourning, Ain't got no time", followed by the pre-chorus once again. During the bridge, Stapp cries out "I cry out to God, seeking only His decision, Gabriel stands and confirms, I've created my own prison". A third pre-chorus is then repeated three times with Stapp repeating the words "I created, I created, I created, I