Songfacts®:

• The title track of Joe Lynn Turner's tenth solo studio album, he wrote the song with Jim Peterik, who is best known for being a member and primary songwriter of the band Survivor.
• Peterik has also co-written songs for the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar, REO Speedwagon and The Beach Boys. Turner explained in track-by-track comments: "This is a song that came out of the Deep Purple sessions with Jim Peterik in Roger Glover's studio. Jim was brought in to commercialise the band in the same way that Def Leppard and Aerosmith were reviving themselves at the time. Peterik is an amazing writer, as witnessed by his hit band Survivor."
• The song title was inspired by a booklet that writer/producer Desmond Child gave Turner when he was living in a commune in the States. Turner explained: "The song talks about how most people live a second hand life that sets out to please our parents, so we often never become ourselves. We end up trying to be what society and parents want us to be so we really are never free to be ourselves!!! It's as if our lives are being passed down like an old pair of shoes. This song rebels against this concept as if to say cut the strings be who you want to be. A very strong statement!"