 Seymour wrote the track, with Smith, after he had read a novel by Jeanette Winterson, "The Passion" (1987), detailing Napoleon's march to Russia in 1812.Seymour's lyrics also reflect the band's own flagging attempts to "crack" the American market and their recent "internal tension" while recording "Cut".He recalled "I wanted to write a song to serve up this idea that regardless of what happens you've got to stay true to the quest".