Jeff Tweety wrote "Dawned on Me" as a painfully honest portrayal of his own marriage. "I think the only real hope for any relationship, in terms of longevity, is to maintain the ability to fall in love with each other and not get too distracted when it's not too perfect," the Wilco lead singer acknowledged. "Me and my wife have been together for 20 years and I think it's pretty unrealistic to always be in love." The song was included on Wilco’s The Whole Love album, which was their first release on their own record label, dBpm.