Musically an electropop song, the lyrics discuss finding a balance between societal roles and tasks that a woman might perform, alongside accomplishing her dreams.

An accompany music video was released on 7 August 2013 and features Oh Land and backup dancers performing choreography within an abandoned warehouse.

After taking a yearlong hiatus following the release of her eponymous second studio album, Oh Land (2011), she began to start writing and recording new material for an upcoming project.

Oh Land enlisted the help of TV on the Radio's David Andrew Sitek, who she praised as a "brilliant instrumentalist"; the pair collaborated for the aforementioned project, which would later become her third record, Wish Bone (2013).

[1] The singer billed the record as her "most directly personal album that [she has] done to date", and also claimed that the lyrics stood out for being extremely vulnerable.

[3] "Renaissance Girls" was released on 6 August 2013 as a digital download in her home country of Denmark, through Tusk or Tooth and A:larm Music.

[3][5] A digital extended play featured a remix of the single was released in the same year, on 27 August by Federal Prism Records.

[8] Lyrically, Oh Land sings about performing common household tasks, followed by reaching her goals: "Doing the laundry and planning for the future / Is the nature of a renaissance girl".

[2] Additionally, the singer acknowledged that the term "Renaissance Man" is given to artistic individuals like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, but that the female equivalent has never existed.

[8] A reviewer from CMJ New Music Monthly acclaimed the recording by claiming that "Oh Land might just give Superwoman a run for her money".

[17] Jennifer Joh from Neon Tommy also was positive towards the song, which she found to be "dazzling and exuberant",[13] while James Christopher Monger of AllMusic called it "ultimately infectious".

For the song's refrain, Oh Land rides an all-terrain vehicle, before the video concludes with a large group of children joining the women for a final dance.