The song, written by the songwriting duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart has been compared to the Beatles' "Paperback Writer", particularly in its "jangly" guitar sound, chord structure and vocal harmonies. The Beatles' song had reached number one on the U.S. charts three months earlier.

Hart got the idea for the lyrics when he turned on the radio and heard the end of "Paperback Writer." Thinking Paul McCartney was singing "take the last train," Hart decided to use the line himself after he found out that McCartney was actually singing "paperback writer." Hart knew that the Monkees' TV series was being pitched as a music/comedy series in the spirit of the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night, and he was hoping that by emulating the Beatles the song might become a successful single. He included a distinctively rhythmic lyric and wrote in the "Oh No-No-No, Oh No-No-No" lyrics as a response to the Beatles' famous "Yeah Yeah Yeah," looking for a guitar riff to match it in the studio.