The lyrics take the form of an autobiographical lament, with the singer returning to her childhood home in Ohio and discovering that rampant development had destroyed the "pretty countryside" of her youth.

"[5] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Bryan Wawzenek rated it as drummer Martin Chambers' 4th best Pretenders song, saying that the beat is "so simple, so stark, so basic – it’s brilliant.

"[7] In 1999, Rolling Stone magazine reported that, according to Hynde's manager, neither KFBK (which owned the show prior to national syndication) nor Limbaugh had licensed the song nor asked permission to use it.

According to Rolling Stone, EMI took action after Limbaugh told a pair of reporters in 1997 that "it was icing on the cake that it was [written by] an environmentalist, animal rights wacko and was an anti-conservative song.

[7][8] She later wrote to the organization saying, "In light of Rush Limbaugh's vocal support of PETA's campaign against the Environmental Protection Agency's foolish plan to test some 3,000 chemicals on animals, I have decided to allow him to keep my song, 'My City Was Gone', as his signature tune..."[8] After a one-year transition, Travis and Sexton allowed its license on "My City Was Gone" to lapse and began using "My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit.