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I decided on the word ‘tattered’. The word reflected the state of the relationship; old, falling apart, not worth saving. I knew then that the line needed to end in ‘tattered’. Without having written the complete last line, just knowing that it needed to end in ‘tattered’, I started writing the three preceding lines.

I thought it would be interesting having the singer’s ‘ex’ call him. I always like to name places in songs. It’s a way of bringing credence and believability to the lyric. So I had her call from Moline, and imply that it was unexpected and unwanted. I nailed down when she called. It was on Halloween.

Now I needed a line that rhymed with Halloween and that could be described in the last line as tattered. One usually thinks of clothes or at least cloth as tattered but nothing worked. I finally came up with ‘dream’. Dreams can end up ‘tattered’. The completed verse ended up like this:

You should have never called me from Moline

Late at night on that Halloween

A fading voice from a faded dream

An one that’s torn and tattered

Think of writing backward like a magician would structure a trick or in the way a comedienne would write a joke. To the listener it can seem amazing.

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