Songfacts®:

• Amos Lee penned this soulful piano ballad when he was in Louisiana. "'Spirit' was written in a New Orleans hotel room, on a loaner guitar, after a night wandering alone in the French Quarter," he told American Songwriter. "I connected to this fellow, standing in the shadows on Royal Street, singing his songs behind his open guitar case. Despite very few people paying him any mind, he was there for that moment, for the spirit of creation and connection. Maybe it was also for beer money, but in my mind, this guy was there to play for people and to be heard."
• Lee sings here from the perspective of this anonymous street singer, whom he imagines plays music to "feel the spirit."
  
  "In my journey, I've had lots of luck, and great people to help guide me and these songs, but at the core, it's always about connection, and trying to share souls, to share burdens and joys, and to feel less alone even though we fully know that we are," said Lee. "With music, I've found a muse, a home, a ship to sail, a tormentor, and, most importantly, a vessel of connection. I imagine that this street singer had no idea how much his songs meant to me, but from those shadows, in the midst of that chaos, he changed my life. I wanted to pay tribute to him, and to the friends of mine who persevere through the static, the pain, the disappointment, the self-doubt, the lost dogs and mixed blessings, and keep creating, singing, and connecting."