Songfacts®:

• This theatrical song is the lead single from Seattle-born rockers The Posies' seventh studio album, Blood/Candy. The track features a contribution from Broken Social Scene's Lisa Lobsinger, who is one of several guest musicians on the disc. This marked the first time the band have ever had guest musicians on a record.
• The song features an amalgamation of different parts, not unlike a piece of musical theater. "'License to Hide' is one of two songs on the record that I think is so completely out of left field for us," co-founder Jon Auer told Spin magazine. "I always thought that the Posies should have something that resembles a showtune in our canon... On a certain day, it could be in one of the Muppet movies - and I mean that in a good way."
• Co-founder Ken Stringfellow said of the song's message to Spin magazine: "It's just about shedding the inhibitions to be yourself. So many people present themselves as the people they want to be seen as - and there's something noble about that. As you grow older, you might earn the right to be that person, having tried other things, and maybe that person isn't so bad."