 The detached, dispassionate tone in the lyrics has invited alternative interpretations.Gould refers to it as "a rueful rain check of a love song" directed to the "right person at the wrong time", while, according to Jackson, "the lyrics address all the women of the world, saying that had he met them earlier [before committing to Boyd], it might have worked out, but now he was too much in love (but give me your number just in case).