Some of the songs were topical at the time of release. "Ita" referred to journalist and television presenter Ita Buttrose. "Star Hotel" is written about the riot that took place there,"Choirgirl" about abortion, and "Four Walls" referenced the riots at Bathurst Gaol. Barnes later said, "At the time we'd been doing a hell of a lot of gigs in jails and Don had been really into it. He'd been talking to William Munday and all those people, and I don't think he knew why, but he was sort of obsessed with the penal system."