wrote the lyrics with the intention of "undressing" the word and finding a more basic and universal definition for it. "Jamaica Inn" features mandolin playing by Mac Aladdin. The song took inspiration from the Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name, and stories from Cornwall locals of ships running aground and being looted by wreckers. "Barons of Suburbia" features extensive use of mixed meter, alternating between , , and . The song reportedly took months to write, with the pre-chorus taking shape much earlier than the rest of the track. "Sleeps with Butterflies" continues the theme of nature and pollination-themed imagery. Much like portions of the previous track, its chorus took months for Amos to complete, eventually coming as a spur-of-the-moment creation on the piano. "General Joy" was written in July 2004 and criticizes the war on terror. "Mother Revolution" concerns the concept of mothers suffering the deaths of their children in global conflict. As Amos said in a 2005 interview with Uncut: "what I find really disturbing about this global war, is you don't see any of the world leaders sending their children to be butchered. It's always someone else's children, someone else's blood." "Ribbons Undone" was inspired by Amos' daughter Natashya. Prominently featuring Evans' upright bass, "Cars and Guitars" depicts the struggle of communication between a man and a woman in a relationship. The song is written from the point of view of a narrator personifying themselves as the titular objects in an attempt to facilitate conversation between herself and her partner ("it never was the cars and guitars that came between us"). The song was released as a radio-only promo single. "Witness", a song described as being about betrayal, also heavily features elements of soul music. "Original Sinsuality" is a solo piano-and-vocal performance. The song gave its name to the album's supporting tour and was used as the opening song in each of its shows. Amos stated the song "suggests it's not sin you find in the garden, it's original sinsuality", a term created to represent a situation in which her character is encouraged to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rather than being dissuaded from it. "Ireland" exerts a reggae influence and was inspired by writer James Joyce and the music of Bob Marley. The album's title track was originally written after Amos' mother had suffered a medical emergency, and