 Early versions of the song featured a different bridge, as well as a different melody where the line "Journey to the past" is sung.Ahrens and Flaherty were writing songs for "Anastasia" at the same time they were working on their stage musical "Ragtime" (1996) in Toronto, Ontario.Thus, Ahrens and Flaherty were often required to communicate with the filmmakers in Hollywood, California and Phoenix, Arizona via conference call when they were unable to attend production meetings in person.