According to his 2015 autobiography, Unfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink, Costello reports that his go-to story about the writing of “Alison” is that he became inspired upon seeing a beautiful girl working in a supermarket, and thought about how her life might have turned out.

He has also denied suggestions that the lines “somebody better put out the big light” and “my aim is true” (from which the album, “My Aim is True”, gets its name) refer to murder.

The liner notes for the song on the album Girls, Girls, Girls also allege that the song has a hidden reference to The Spinners. It has often been speculated that the homage is in how Costello delivers the line, “I know this world is killing you,” as his staccato signing somewhat mirrors the vocals on “Ghetto Child”’s pre-choral lyric, “Life ain’t so easy when you’re a (…)”.

Though the song never charted as a single, it has inspired covers that did, such as Linda Ronstadt’s cover, which reached number 30 in the US adult contemporary chart, and number 66 on the UK singles chart.