Jack Layton was a political leader in Canada who died too soon. I usually agreed with his social-democratic, progressive values and his party's agenda. And Jack didn't just talk the talk - he walked the walk. He was truly a good man. He was the kind of man that was respected by his adversaries because of his integrity and goodness. When it came time for him to die, he published a letter to all Canadians and I used some of his words in this song.
After he died, his wife told some stories of Jack's encounters with regular folks. She spoke of how Jack got his inspiration from these people and how he was influenced by them. One of those stories was about a homeless man, Eugene, who spoke with Jack one winter day on the street. Jack thought of him over the next few days and went back to check on him. He discovered that Eugene had frozen to death on the street the night before. These stories became my inspiration to write this song.