inspired by the Rudyard Kipling poem If— whilst the title of "Sowing Season" is a reference from Stephen King's novel Secret Window, Secret Garden, where the main character had written a short story of the same title. The song deals with topics such as death (as per the notable opening line of the album, "was losing all my friends, was losing them to drinking and to driving") and the desire to better oneself. "Millstone", track two, is described by Sputnikmusic as being about "not a loss of hope but rather a loss of innocence", citing lines such as "I used to pray that God was listening / I used to make my parents proud" as examples of such. "Jesus Christ" is about "analyzing crises of faith" in a conversation with God, making references to Biblical figures such as Thomas the Apostle and Elijah. Its lyrics touch on loneliness, the validity of the afterlife and the struggle to maintain faith, influenced by Lacey's religious upbringing and his attending of the South Shore Christian School during his adolescence. The single's artwork pays homage to the album Goat by The Jesus Lizard. Fourth track "Degausser" borrows the lyric "Take apart the demon, in the attic to the left" from the Roky Erickson track "Bloody Hammer". The song is rumored to be about fellow musician Sherri DuPree of the band Eisley, an ex-girlfriend of Lacey's who rejected his marriage proposal. Fifth song on the album "Limousine" is about the death of seven-year-old Katie Flynn from the band's hometown of Long Island. Travelling home with her family after a wedding, their limousine was hit by drunk driver Martin Heidgen, a few miles from where Lacey was living at the time, leading to the decapitation of the young Flynn, whose severed head fell into her mother's arms. In the track, Lacey tells the story from various perspectives, including that of Flynn's mother, Heidgen and Flynn herself. Lacey has commented that the story particularly resonated with him as he knew people who drove drunk the week the accident took place. Producer Mike Sapone had the idea to include samples of explosions in the track, hence the subtitle "MS Rebridge", with MS being Sapone's initials. At seven minutes and forty-two seconds, it remained Brand New's longest song until 2017's "Batter Up," which is eight minutes and twenty-eight seconds long. The track's bridge repeats itself seven times as Lacey