Dear Life is the third single from Beck’s thirteenth studio album, Colors, and the first to have been released after the album was announced. It was written before the completion of preceding album Morning Phase by Beck and producer Greg Kurstin, who played most of the instrumental parts on the song. It features a jaunty Beatles-inspired piano riff and layered vocals.

In an interview with Vulture, Beck explained the meaning behind the song:

Dear Life is about how you can go through really rough periods and there’s a certain point where you say, “Life, just take me, show me what I’m supposed to do. I surrender.” You’ll have a week where ten things magically go wrong all in a row, but then there’s a bit of humor in that, too.