Songfacts®:

• Dream Theater lead singer James LaBrie wrote the lyrics to this piano-driven ballad. In the song, he comforts Anna Lee, who feels frightened and alone.
  
  The song was inspired by an article LaBrie read about sex trafficking. "'Anna Lee' is about sexual abuse, an incestual thing that I read about, so I wanted to write about this girl," he said in a Songfacts interview.
• The girl in the story that inspired this song was named Natalie. LaBrie changed it to Anna Lee.
• According to Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, the Elton John songs "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "Rocket Man" were musical inspirations for this song.
• The Falling Into Infinity album, which includes "Anna Lee," was a difficult one for the band, whose label, East West Records, had been absorbed into Elektra, which was looking to monetize the band. Under pressure from the label, they made some compromises, shortening their songs and polishing them for radio. The producer, Kevin Shirley, was foisted on them by the label and did their bidding. They got more control for their next album, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, which was produced by band members Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci.