It was released as the lead single from their sixth album, Gold Afternoon Fix (1990), and the songwriting credits were given to all four members of the band.

A complicated web of guitar overdubs appears later in the song, and a soft, mandolin-sounding melody was added as an additional hook.

[6][7] Critically, Ned Raggett of AllMusic praised "the almost desperate edge in Steve Kilbey's vocals" as a testament to the song's quality.

Raggett added that the Church's "ear for a triumphant yet somehow downbeat ending [makes] this an underrated gem in the band's body of work.

[8][13] Studios Personnel The band performed the song, as well as "Under the Milky Way", for MTV Unplugged on 30 January 1990 at the National Video Center in New York City.