Jason Pierce of Spiritualized told Rolling Stone that Lou Reed's music — in particular, his 1970 song "Sweet Jane" — influenced this eight-minute-long song. "It was a kind of idea that rock & roll is such a big part of me," he said. "I wanted to write on a thing that reflected the sadness and the demise of that in that record. Hence the name Jane. It was written specifically about a couple of people, but the name 'Jane' seems as fitting as any. There is a line in the middle of it, where she is listening to 'Sweet Jane' on the radio."