Jim Croce described this song as having a “funky street feel”. During a performance, he explained the song as “a story about a guy who thinks he thinks he should be ruling the universe somewhere, but he is really working at a car wash”.

Croce explained that he came up with the idea for the song while in the military at Fort Jackson, running telephone cables on poles and thinking he should be doing something else. While on top of the pole, Croce thought about everyone in the same situation thinking they should be doing another “gig” and have a different job.