The song is a ballad in which the narrator, a young man, plots to die by suicide by jumping off a bridge. While on the bridge, he notices an older, homeless man, to whom he gives money, figuring that he “wouldn’t need it anyway”. Upon receiving the money, the homeless man tells of his past, saying that he “hasn’t always been this way”, and that he has had his “Moments, days in the sun / Moments [he] was second to none”. Upon hearing the story, the young man then ponders his own life, wondering if anyone will miss him, should he decide to take his own life. He remembers his own “Moments, days in the sun.” The young man then walks away from the bridge, imagining the older man telling his friends about his moments, including “that cool night on the East Street bridge / When a young man almost ended it / I was right there, wasn’t scared a bit / And I helped to pull him through”.

The song originated when songwriter Annie Tate and her husband, Sam, were working with their friend and songwriting partner Dave Berg to construct a song about people having their moments. Sam came up with the idea of basing the song around a homeless man. After the song was written, he stated, “I’ve always wanted to write a song about redemption and how everyone has the ability to redeem themselves somehow”.