"[2] Thom Owens of AllMusic wrote retrospectively of the album, "Lone Star State of Mind was Nanci Griffith's commercial breakthrough, largely because it was her first step directly toward mainstream contemporary country.

"[1] The song "Ford Econoline" was a fictional tale dedicated to folk singer Rosalie Sorrels.

In the song, Griffith describes Sorrels escaping an unhappy Mormon marriage, driving from Salt Lake City to San Diego with her five children to start a new life as a folk singer.

[3] The "rollicking" song was not released as a single,[4] but it was performed frequently by Griffith in concert, including a standout appearance backed by the Chieftains and Roger Daltrey in Belfast in 1991, part of the finale sequence on the live album An Irish Evening.

[5] All tracks are written by Nanci Griffith, except as indicatedTrack information and credits adapted from the album's liner notes.