Songfacts®:

• This impressionistic guitar-pop song, though at times inscrutable, is about a personal experience of singer Ben Bridwell. "I feel like everybody has had a time when nothing goes right and you still have to carry on," he said. "I think that feeling hits you in this song, even if you don't know what the specifics are."
• In the double-meaning chorus, Bridwell sings of his dependence on his romantic partner.
  
  I've got a crutch on you, wishing there was something that I could do
  I've got a crutch on you
  
  The wordplay expresses the idea of having a crush as well as relying on his lover. "I think I wanted to say, 'I've got a crush on you,' and I thought it was funny how relationships also feel like crutches," said Bridwell.
• Bridwell co-produced the track with Wolfgang Zimmerman, a well-known in-house producer.
• Released as the lead single from Things Are Great, Band of Horses achieved their first #1 on a Billboard songs chart when "Crutch" climbed to the top of the Adult Alternative tally dated January 8, 2022. Their previous best placement had been "Casual Party," which peaked at #4 on the same tally in 2016.