Songfacts®:

• This song was inspired by a rock formation near Glasgow called the Auld Wives Lifts. Drummer Kevin Jones explained to The Sun: "There are myths surrounding the stories and we wanted to create our own stories around them."
• The song is a good example of the new style showcased by Bear's Den on Red Earth & Pouring Rain, which was influenced by '70s and '80s rock. Guitarist Andrew Davie told The Line Of Best Fit:
  
  "Pretty much since we started working on it ("Auld Wives") we were felt it captured that 'mood' of driving through the night – that image we wanted to create. It's a bit new for us, but when I first wrote it a couple of years ago, it was on the guitar – it was quite folky. But then we spent a lot of time messing around and pulling it into a different headspace, and thinking about people like Stevie Nicks and songs like 'Edge Of Seventeen.'"