This originated from a drinking session between Gallagher, Russell Brand and Morrissey in LA when Morrissey asked them to play a compilation CD he'd made. Gallagher recalled: "The music would be going on and we wouldn't be paying much attention to it and suddenly he'd go, 'Name . This tune, name me this tune,' and I would be like, 'Urm... I don't know.'"

One of the songs Morrissey played was the 1974 single "Pinball," which provided the key to a "Bob Dylan sort of thing," Gallagher was playing around with. He recalled: "One night before we left, to my engineer and my drummer, who are twin brothers, I said, 'Have you heard this track 'Pinball' by Brian Protheroe?' And they said, 'No,' so we played it at a light came on and I thought, 'What if I played this track in that style?'"

The use of saxophone on "Pinball" was one of the ideas that Gallagher borrowed for this song. He recalled: 'We made a demo of Riverman and we knew it was amazing,' 'And then I was listening to 'Pinball' by Brian Protheroe and thought: Shall I actually get a saxophone player? And what if I get him to play not one but two solos? I know I'm going to be accused of sax crimes. But f--k it. There's nobody to tell me not to do it. And when you listen to that saxophone, please, don't think about the guy from Spandau Ballet."

The acoustic opening guitar figure is reminiscent of Gallagher most recognizable tune, "Wonderwall." When asked by The Quietus about the similarity, the former Oasis songwriter responded, "I don't really over-think it that much to be honest. If I did that, I'd never release anything. I'd think, "Oh, this is a bit similar to 'Wonderwall'". To me, it's just a good song. The end. It's for other people to decide what it sounds like. I refuse to overthink it."