Lyrically, Wallen sings of his lost love and reminisces about their romance that took place, as the title suggests, seven summers ago.

[1][2] During the COVID-19 quarantine, Wallen was nominated by fellow country musician Jake Owen to do a demo on Instagram; he accepted the challenge and performed what would become the song's first verse and chorus in April 2020.

[3][4] Wallen was initially uncertain whether the song would be included on his second album, however he changed his mind after the demo received positive feedback from fans and went viral on video-sharing app TikTok, earning over 24 million views prior to its official release.

[8] The song contains ringing, suspended chords,[6] and layered guitars meant to add a maximalist element,[9] a "shimmering mid-tempo groove", and a "breezy, island-influenced" melody.

[9][11] His nostalgia takes him back to an unforgettable summer that is "all too vivid", with a "time traveling chorus" indicating a second chance with his former romance may be possible.

Billboard's Melinda Newman gave the song overall praise, calling it reminiscent of the easy listening music of the mid 20th century and stating: "Wallen's wistful vocals, Joey Moi's pitch-perfect production and the yearning for a time and love long gone pack a gentle wallop".

[15] Rolling Stone's Jon Freeman called the song "dreamy", complimenting Moi's "atmospheric" production, stating that it "perfectly fits the mood of Wallen's story".

[21][22] The video was inspired by a period in Wallen's life in which he got injured playing baseball and struggled adjusting to community college, as well as by him reminiscing on old conversations with his high school girlfriend.

Its chart run was halted as a result of SiriusXM Satellite Radio, iHeartRadio, Entercom, and Cumulus Media all issuing directives to their stations to remove Wallen's music from airplay,[29][30] following controversy after the singer was caught on camera using a racial slur with friends as they were entering his Nashville home.

[32] "7 Summers" strong commercial performance was primarily driven by TikTok and streaming, a rare occurrence in country music which typically relies on radio airplay and physical sales more than other genres.

[7][28][33] Wallen first performed "7 Summers" live on September 10, 2020, in Austin, Texas as part of Tito's Handmade Vodka Presents: Made to Order Festival.