Songfacts®:

• Laura Veirs originally wrote this song about her little son Oz. When she offered it to Neko Case and k.d. lang, Case completely rewrote the lyrics, making them about venture capitalism and water rights. Veirs embraced them after realizing how good her bandmate's new lyrics were. She recalled to Uncut magazine:
  
  "I had written the full music and lyrics and melodies and given it to the ladies... And Neko lifted out nearly all the lyrics. She added in all new lyrics and I loved it - she's a brilliant lyricist. So to see her artistry come through my melody and my music was really awesome. I wasn't bummed at all. I think some people who don't write a lot of songs are very precious about them, they feel covetous of them and that's not the case with me."
• Would you like to start a river?
  Ride it like a painted carousel
  
  Case told CBC Music she's grateful for Veirs allowing her to latch onto her song and rewrite it. "The lyrics 'ride it like a painted carousel' and the parts about the smile, those parts are so powerful to me, and those are her context and her lyrics there," she explained. "So, you know, she wrote the parts that I find most powerful and yet they have a completely different meaning to me. That's kind of what you do with your songs anyway when you release them."