It was written by Crow, David Baerwald, Bill Bottrell, and Kevin Gilbert, with lyrics adapted from Wyn Cooper's 1987 poem "Fun".

In New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it peaked at number four, and in Europe, it reached the top 10 in Austria, Flanders, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

The song earned Cooper considerable royalties and helped to promote his book, originally published in a run of only 500 copies in 1987, into multiple reprints.

[7][11] The opening spoken line, "This ain't no disco", is a reference to the song "Life During Wartime" by Talking Heads.

[12] In 1997, after attending a performance by Crow at the Rosemont Theatre in Illinois, veteran Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot called the song "a rewrite of Stealers Wheel's 'Stuck in the Middle with You'".

[13] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Critical darling is poised for a long-deserved top 40 breakthrough with this breezy hand-clapper.

Crow has a friendly demeanor that adds extra bounce to a sweet instrumental setting of jangly guitars and toe-tapping beats.

"Devil-may-care lyrics ("I like a good beer-buzz, early in the morning"), a cool country twang and Sheryl's friendly vocal style should all spell hit for this feelin'-good number.

"[15] In a second single review, he noted, "Seriously infectious hook, simple yet clever instrumentation and Crow's likable personality all spell a winner here.

"[16] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton commented, that "All I Wanna Do" "certainly has potential to go further, not least with Lisa Loeb as a role model but my one overwhelming confession is that I honestly cannot see what all the fuss is about.

"[17] Alan Jones from Music Week said "this cheery pop/rock smash is a wordy, but expertly delivered and invigorating confection with a catchy chorus."