Corinne Bailey Rae hooked up with Valerie Simpson to pen this song. She befriended the veteran R&B singer-songwriter after meeting her in New York. Bailey Rae told The Sun: "I got to know her through playing at Sugar Bar, where she runs this open mic night. A lot of people from the music scene pass through. Quincy Jones was even there one time, just enjoying the night."

The two wrote this track at Simpson's house in New York. Bailey Rae recalled to Mojo: "I had this song, 'Do You Ever Think Of Me?,' that was influenced by Curtis Mayfield's 'The Makings Of You,' and I played it to her. She was like, 'Yeah, OK, leave it with me.' I thought, She hates it!"

Bailey Rae laughed. "A month later I got an e-mail from her, entitled 'Dibbles and dabbles – Valerie.' She'd attached a file of her singing my song, but her version of the song, adding her own lyrics, and these amazing piano chords under where she sang, 'Why did it have to end?' She'd smashed it."

"We'd had a good conversation – the song was talking about love, and why did it ever have to end? We could both relate to that (Simpson's late songwriting partner and husband Nick Ashford died in 2011)."