The title track for the album, “Past Life” acts as an intimate end to the first side of Maggie Rogers' debut record, Heard It In A Past Life. As opposed to the more involved production of the other songs on the record, this track was solely produced by Rogers, and consists of only her and a piano. Musically, the song crescendos until the final verse, the build in intensity reflecting the increasingly hectic nature of the past year of Maggie’s life, as her music career began to take off. Apart from the piano and vocals, a slight tape hiss can be heard in the background, giving the track an intimate and “lived in” feeling.

In celebration of the one year anniversary of the album, a short documentary video was put out explaining some of the thought process behind the song. Maggie explains her intention behind the lyrics of the song, saying

The song is about memory and about feeling like you’re remembering decisions instead of making decisions. I feel like I’ve been trying to do this for a very long time and this is the lifetime where it all lines up.

She also revealed details about the writing process for this song. This track was written following her first headline tour, supporting her EP Now That The Light is Fading. After the tour ended, she moved back to Maryland, where she began her songwriting career as a child. She explained that this is where she feels “most like me.” Once there, Rogers revealed that she wrote the song on her grandmother’s piano in only around ten minutes.

The song was finally recorded, directly to tape, at Capitol Studios. This was the last song recorded for the album, with everything else being done. Rogers added:

I just sort of wanted it to be me and a piano and sort of telling the story of this year.