Songfacts®:

• Drew Holcomb first stumbled upon the phrase "a rowdy heart," while on tour. He found a place for the expression in this song about addiction and unfulfilled hope, inspired by a friend who's been through substance dependency and rehab and the added weight of "mistakes, missed starts and burned bridges."
  
  Holcomb explained to Billboard magazine that he is familiar with "the feeling of not having a place to call your own," both mentally and emotionally. He added: "I see that the one with rowdy heart and broken wing himself is a home for his friends and loved ones, myself included."
• The black-and-white video focuses on Holcomb from several different perspectives. Director Eric Ryan Anderson explained how he designed the clip to match the song's lyrical content.
  
  "The video opens with a solo performance shot that holds a little longer than usual, and kind of represents the idea, or the dream we all have in our heads," explained Anderson. "As the song progresses, life (in the form of New York City) caves in and imposes its will. The song plays on at the center of things, but it gradually gets harder to feel the root of it."