A: They’re on to me? Ya know, that’s sort of an interesting one because before 9-11 I had started writing that song much more about something that was not a serious topic. I was a high school tutor, and I used to tutor this kid in English and History and stuff. And I wasn’t really good at tutoring, but I did it anyway cuz I had a connection with someone…Ya know, I was always nervous that the parents of this kid were gonna find out that I was a terrible tutor, and that the kid was not doing well because of me, basically, more than just the fact he had, like, A.D.D. or something. So I wasn’t really helping, and I knew it, and I just felt like, ya know, at some point I was going to get fired from that position. So that was how it started, but then, ya know it became more meaningful when 9-11 happened. Ya know, everybody in New York was just pretty frantic. And it’s still, ya know, in a lot of people’s minds, and mine too, that New York is a more fragile place than it ever was.
for those who want it straight from ari's mouth....i found this in an interview online (http://thepaperonline.org/interviews/arihest.php)
A: They’re on to me? Ya know, that’s sort of an interesting one because before 9-11 I had started writing that song much more about something that was not a serious topic. I was a high school tutor, and I used to tutor this kid in English and History and stuff. And I wasn’t really good at tutoring, but I did it anyway cuz I had a connection with someone…Ya know, I was always nervous that the parents of this kid were gonna find out that I was a terrible tutor, and that the kid was not doing well because of me, basically, more than just the fact he had, like, A.D.D. or something. So I wasn’t really helping, and I knew it, and I just felt like, ya know, at some point I was going to get fired from that position. So that was how it started, but then, ya know it became more meaningful when 9-11 happened. Ya know, everybody in New York was just pretty frantic. And it’s still, ya know, in a lot of people’s minds, and mine too, that New York is a more fragile place than it ever was.