When my friend Gary Sommerfeld and I were working in the "Spencer & Vogel" band together he suggested that the band learn John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland" as one of our cover tunes.
I was listening to the song and looking at the chord chart online and realized that the song was written in the key of C and played in drop D tuning. I hadn't come across that configuration before and I was impressed because I have always used drop D tuning to play in the key of D!
And then I got to thinking what a song would sound/feel like if I played in the key of G and used drop D tuning . . . so I played myself a little rolling introduction using this idea with my ring finger on 5th fret/sixth string and dropping off the finger and letting the note drop down to the D and back up to the G . . . this alternating bass thing . . . not really all that unusual as far as alternating bass line notes are concerned except that it was wonderfully rich with that large drop down to that low D. I was inspired.
Within a few moments and idea for an song came! I was thinking a "swampy" sound and about family and friends and food and the passage of time.
"Time" was born.