Jack Antonoff:

The song, much like a poem, which Zadie Smith helped me write, functions where every lyric is tied to every verse but from a different angle. In the first verse, there’s this child version that can’t understand what’s happening. And you only recognise that you’re here, but you’re not, through the anxiety of your mother. In the second verse, it’s a little bit more about anger. You’re recognising this part of yourself that you don’t like through someone else, which is a pretty intense way of understanding it. If you have a feeling that’s pretty harsh about someone else, there’s a good chance it’s really about you. And then, in the third verse, you finally get this unearned hope, and this lightness of actually having all the magic of being alive.

—via Apple Music

Writing is a fascinating thing. Because you’re so powerless, which is why it’s hilarious. Sometimes you’re in your head, and you’re saying, “Oh, this is a weird feeling. I don’t like this feeling. We should write about it.” And so “91” is that quintessential song for me, where I was looking at my mother, looking at the relationship I got out of, looking at my future, and kind of cutting it up into pieces. I originally called it “Mother Ex-Lover,” but when I saw it on paper, I was like, “This is a problem” [laughs]. So I called it “91.” It’s my favorite piece of writing on the record. Also, because Zadie Smith, who I really love, kind of helped me frame it.

– Jack, via Rolling Stone