Andrea Corr never intended to compose a song about conscription and war. "Shame on You (to Keep My Love from Me)" began as a love song, but later progressed into an anti-war song after Corr had read the novel "Birdsong" by Sebastian Faulks, which describes a man's life during World War I. The novel influenced her to evaluate how the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have impacted society. Corr has called these wars an "immense waste" because they destroy the "beautiful things in life". Corr was also deeply moved by photographs of young soldiers that had been killed. She has said that these photographs made her think of the "children [the deceased] won't have and the husband or wife they've left behind or won't marry."