 Mclean said that he wrote the song after being moved when reading a biography of his hard life.Various aspects of van Gogh's life have been portrayed in several film features including "Lust for Life" (1956) with Kirk Douglas in the title role, "Vincent" (1987), "Vincent & Theo" (1990), "Vincent and Me" (1990), "Dreams" (1990), and "Van Gogh" (1991).