"Breakfast in America" was written by a young Roger before joining Supertramp. An error on a demo copy credits Rick Davies as the writer, but an addendum corrects it prior to the album's release. Hodgson has said that he wrote it during his late teens at a time when he "had a lot of dreams" and that it "still brings a smile to his face" when he sings it on stage. Prior to writing the song, he was driven to find a harmonium (also known as a pump organ); he found one at an elderly woman's house in a village in the English countryside, which he bought for 24 pounds. Hodgson brought it home and proceeded to write many songs on it immediately, "Breakfast in America" being one of them - because the harmonium "had a magical quality to it and still does". He had the lyrics written in about an hour in a "stream-of-consciousness" fashion, expressed from a "real joyful, playful place he was in at the time", while "dreaming of having kippers for breakfast to flying to America and seeing the girls in California, among other things". Hodgson still has the instrument today. The sound on the record is the original harmonium and a grand piano.