La leyenda dice que esta rola, escrita por Tom Petty, es acerca de una estudiante de la Universidad de Florida que se suicidó saltando desde el balcón de su dormitorio. Petty es de Gainesville que es donde se localiza la universidad, y la autopista 441 (mencionada en la letra) pasa por la escuela, dándole credibilidad a la historia. Sin embargo, el mismísimo Tom ha insistido en que esta historia es solo una leyenda urbana, y que en realidad la letra esta inspirada por los sonidos de una autopista cercana a su apartamento en Encino, California, años después de haberse mudado de Florida.
Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn't help thinkin'
That there was a little more to life somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
And if she had to die tryin'
She had one little promise she was gonna keep
Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy, baby
Make it last all night
She was an American girl
Well it was kinda cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441 like waves crashin' on the beach
And for one desperate moment
There he crept back in her memory
God it's so painful when something that's so close
Is still so far out of reach
Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy, baby
Make it last all night
