Songfacts®:

• Geoff Tate, who was the lead singer for Queensrÿche until he left the band in 2012, tends to write honest, expressive songs drawn from his own life. In keeping with this, "She Slipped Away" is based Tate's personal experience. In a Songfacts interview, he elaborated on the idea behind the song: "In relationships, I'll typically be driving the car, while my girlfriend is in the passenger seat. If you're arguing, you're trying to operate the car and not crash while defending yourself at the same time. I wrote a short story based on that, turned the story into the song, and finally decided it would take three songs to tell."
• "She Slipped Away" picks up the story that began in the Tate-written Queensrÿche song "Drive," released on the 2011 Queensryche record Dedicated to Chaos. Tate says that a third and final song will eventually follow.
  
  "Drive" described the argument between the couple, relayed from the boyfriend's perspective. This song focuses on the fallout: she's left the car and run out, the relationship presumably in ruins. The lyrics are fairly straightforward ruminations on how she has "slipped away," and to what degree the narrator is bothered by this. It suggests an increasing sense of regret, as the refrain "Why didn't she try to see it my way?" is ultimately replaced by "Why didn't I try to see it her way?"
• Tate explained the writing and recording process of Kings and Thieves to Artist Direct: "Making this record was a different process for me, and I made it very quickly. It flowed from the moment I started until the time I was done with it. It only took about six months to make. By comparison, Queensrÿche records have taken years to make."
• Tate has said that he has a fairly cinematic vision of his songs in his head, and that "She Slipped Away" was aesthetically inspired by the works of director David Lynch.