Songfacts®:

• Church said to Spin magazine of this vintage-soul sex jam: "I've always hated where we get cute with subjects like that. Innuendo. I'm of the old school, the Al Green, that age of, 'We're talkin' about sex.' Just come out and say it."
• Jam! Music asked Church if he damned Miley Cyrus for releasing a similarly titled song after he'd recorded his own wrecking ball tune. He replied: "I hadn't heard the Miley Cyrus song, honestly I don't listen to that world a whole lot. But as somebody said something about it and I just looked at them blankly, and I guess at the time it was like the biggest song in the world and I was like, 'I don't think I know the song.' Then they played it and I was like, 'Well, it's different.'"
• Cyrus wasn't the first person to use the heavy steel ball that demolishes large buildings as a metaphor for destruction. Other artists that have sung of a wrecking ball include: Aubrey O'Day, Bruce Springsteen, Five Finger Death Punch, Harvey Danger, Jack's Mannequin and Lifehouse.
• This song about a passionate reunion after a long road trip was a late addition to The Outsiders. "(The project) is a whole entity," producer Jay Joyce explained in CMA Close Up feature. "But we'll sit back and think, 'What is this little family (of songs) missing?' And we're smart enough to stand back and let the record reveal itself. Sure, you've got to show up and do the work. But Eric came into the studio with three new tunes this time, so you've got to allow for a great song at the last minute. On the last record, I think it was 'Springsteen' that came in at the last minute. This time it was 'Wrecking Ball.'"
• Eric Church co-wrote the song with Casey Beathard, who has also co-penned Top 10 singles for Gary Allan, Billy Ray Cyrus, Trace Adkins, and Kenny Chesney. The Nashville songwriter also contributed to a number of The Outsiders tracks, including "Devil, Devil (Prelude: Princess of Darkness)," "The Joint," "That's Damn Rock & Roll" and the title tune.