Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody wrote the lyrics for this song, fleshing it out with lead singer Amy Lee, who wrote the piano part and added the bridge. They recorded it for their first EP in 1998, but decided to remove it at the last minute. By the time it was released in 2003 on their debut album, Fallen, the song had gone through a number of changes.

The lyrics are totally fictional, according to Ben Moody. They evoke a spirit, but he insists the song has nothing to do with God or religion. Moody was still in high school when he wrote the lyric.

The original version had some different lyrics. After "Suppressed by all my childish fears" came two more lines: I would give every breath from my chest To give you all the things that my mind could bear And, instead of: I've tried so hard to tell myself That you're gone But though you're still with me I've been alone all along It was: I love to walk away By myself out of the rain But I can't leave without you I love to live without the constant fear and endless doubt But I can't live without you