Songfacts®:

• In our interview, Lukas Nelson recalled writing the song alone and drunk late one night on tour. He captured the inebriated performance on his iPhone, and worked it into "Don't Take Me Back" the very next day. This is reflective of his usual style - honest, direct songs that capture a strong feeling and tie it to a powerful melody.
• Nelson told Your Music Magazine that he writes about "life and things that have happened or if I feel sympathetic toward a situation. I'll be up at night, sitting and writing, and it just comes out."
  
  "Don't Take Me Back" holds true to this description. It's a benign, cheerful anthem about moving on from an ended relationship. Rather than stick to the tried-and-true bitter and dismissive tract most such songs take, it's a laid back, zen-like acceptance of the situation; a musical shrug of the shoulders. "I'm gonna smoke my joint all night," Nelson drawls, "and feel alive."
• Most of the songs on Wasted were written while Nelson was intoxicated in one way or another, and many of the songs reflect themes of fast life and partying. However, it's not ultimately a celebration of that lifestyle - it's more of running a fine-toothed comb over the experience of always getting wasted, and pulling back the ugly long-term reality of those choices. After the album was completed, Nelson quit drinking.