coming up with a pre-chorus vocal melody. Eventually, he came up with a line reminiscent of Motown. As a precaution, Page had also written a vocal melody for the part, but upon hearing Coverdale's idea, he forwent his own. The verse-chorus chord progression for "Take Me for a Little While" was written by Page at Lake Tahoe. Lyrically, Coverdale described the song as a "reflective piece", inspired by personal tragedies both he and Page had gone though in their lives. In 2020, Page stated in an Instagram post that the orchestrations on "Take Me for a Little While" were done by Clare Fischer, despite his lack of credit in the liner notes. The opening riff of "Pride and Joy" was written by Coverdale, which he then presented to Page while in Barbados. This led to the song's original working title of "Barbados Boogie". "Pride and Joy" also marked the first time Page had performed harmonica on a recording since 1965's "She Just Satisfies". He also plays a dulcimer, which he had previously done on "That’s the Way" from Led Zeppelin III (1970). "Over Now" developed from another Page chord progression, which Coverdale described as sounding "dark" and "malevolent". The song's lyrics were inspired by Coverdale's divorce from Tawny Kitaen. "Feeling Hot" was described by Page as "one of those real fun rock 'n' roll numbers". It was the second song Page and Coverdale wrote together, being partly inspired by 1940s swing music. The lyrics to "Easy Does It" deal with celebrity life and its effect on a relationship. The chord progression for "Take a Look at Yourself" was written by Page at Lake Tahoe. The song was later finished in Barabados, when another section written by Coverdale was added and the tempo was changed. "Don't Leave Me This Way" was singled out by Coverdale as a particular favourite from the album. The introductory riff had been written by Coverdale many years earlier, but was left unused until presented to Page. The lyrics to "Whisper a Prayer for the Dying" deal with the Gulf War. Four songs remain officially unreleased from the Coverdale–Page sessions, including one titled "Saccharine" and an alternative mix of "Shake My Tree". Some of Coverdale's unused ideas were later reappropriated for Whitesnake's 1997 album Restless Heart ("Woman Trouble Blues" and "Take Me Back Again") and 2019's Flesh & Blood ("Gonna Be Alright"), as well as his 2000