Songfacts®:

• Arkells frontman Max Kerman wrote this emotional piano ballad about his late friend, Dr. Barbara Tatham, when she was sick with cancer. He said the song describes those "little moments of joy and relief where you can briefly leave behind an impossible situation."
  
  It also serves as an ode to Barbara's relationship with her family and friends, and the strength of the love she felt from the people who knew her.
• Dr. Barbara Tatha died of metastatic sarcoma at the age of 32 in October 2019, surrounded by family. During her last year of life, she used her terminal illness to teach medical learners how to connect with their patients.
  
  Max Kerman went to college with Dr. Tatham and they continued to be friends for the rest of her all-too-brief life. He described her as "a doctor who advocated for the needy. She loved music and dancing. A picture of grace and kindness."
• "Strong" marks the first time that Arkells has released such a stripped-back song. They went through three or four different piano arrangements until keyboardist Tony Carone put together a simple treatment. "We deliberately didn't want to put any schmaltzy strings on it or add a ton of harmonies - we wanted it to be as minimalist as possible," Kerman told Apple Music. "We don't have a song like this in our entire catalogue, where it's just a piano and a vocal with no bells and whistles. It definitely feels like it suits the tone."
• Arkells recorded the track for Blink Once. Completed in early 2020 just before the pandemic hit, much of the album is about loss and strained relationships. By releasing the record after 18 months of COVID and lockdown, Arkells saw these personal songs take on a more universal meaning.