In this song, Young sings from the perspective of a man whose long-term marriage is coming to an end. He's looking back at all they went through, wondering if they can find a way to make it last. In real life, Young's marriage was sturdy, but the song could relate to any number of relationships - personal or musical - in his life. They song came true for him in a literal sense in 2014 when he and his wife Pegi, married since 1977, split up.
The "Hank" in this song is not Hank Williams, but Hank Marvin, guitarist in the band The Shadows and a huge influence on Young. Jimi Hendrix was also a big influence - Young called him "the greatest electric-guitar player who ever lived."
Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor, who sang backup on the track "Heart of Gold" from his 1972 album Harvest, returned to sing on this one. Young considered the Harvest Moon album a sequel of sorts to Harvest.
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