 In the "Great Days" anthology liner notes Prine claims that he composed "Hello In There" as a tribute to senior citizens, saying he "always had an affinity for old people.I used to help a buddy with his newspaper route, and I delivered to a Baptist old peoples home where we’d have to go room-to-room.And some of the patients would kind of pretend that you were a grandchild or nephew that had come to visit, instead of the guy delivering papers.