 For "The Rhythm of the Saints", Simon was inspired by poet Derek Walcott, and would base first-draft lyrics on his poems.Simon attempted to match the rhythmic quality of the composition with his lyrics, whether that meant a lyric was meaningless or not.A lyric relating to "the cross is in the ballpark," for example, has no meaning; Simon said, "I found [it] to be a satisfying rhythmic phrase against the drums."