Songfacts®:

• Greek mythology recounts how Apollo was struck by the beauty of Cassandra, daughter of Priam, the King of Troy. He promised Cassandra the gift of prophecy in return for her favors, but she rejected him afterwards. Enraged, Apollo indeed gifted her with the ability to know the future, with a curse that she could only see the future tragedies and that no one would ever believe her. None believed her prophecies of the fall of Troy and Cassandra was eventually captured at the sack of the city.
• In 1949 French philosopher Gaston Bachelard coined the term "Cassandra Complex" to refer to a belief that things could be known in advance. In psychology, the Cassandra Complex is applied to individuals who experience physical and emotional suffering as a result of distressing personal perceptions, but are disbelieved when they attempt to share the cause of their pain with others. Emmy explained to The Guardian how the Cassandra Complex inspired this song: "I pulled out some important-looking books about Jung at my local library, and ended up reading an idiot's guide graphic novel. There was a section called 'Cassandra complex.' I've always sympathised with Cassandra. She had some bad luck. And she was always right, like my mother. I see her existing through the ages, in many situations."