Sleeping Within was written shortly after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. Even though we have seen many improvements in the safety and use of nuclear power, the threat of a potential meltdown during this time was quite real and on the minds of many people. With a clever and ominous lyric by Frank Hanson, Sleeping Within depicts nuclear power as a person who is beckoning everyone to join him in his quest to "save the world" through the use of nuclear power. The lyrics include great lines like: "so we built a concrete palace out along the beach to implement the wisdom that he preached." The message then becomes even more ominous as we discover that "sleeping within" this promise of a brighter future lurks a terrible threat to all of us. The music by Matt Snyder and Matt Christensen (David Chris) is bold and climactic to fit the message. It is a continuation and refinement of the approach that began with Here Are the Headlines in that it uses a driving hard rock sound, rich vocal harmonies and a progressive/jazz rock instrumental section to carry the song to its conclusion. The middle section with clarinet and guitar unison and harmonized parts has an orchestral effect that the group worked hard to perfect. With its reprise of the powerful chorus at the end, Sleeping Within leaves no doubt about its message. A quote from the movie The China Syndrome was added to this recording and is heard over the throbbing, machine like sound effect at the end to cement the song in terms of time, place and theme. The song remains one of Thin Ice's best efforts.