 The song was a late addition to the album; Costello had originally intended to record "I Hope You're Happy Now", but throat problems during the final sessions prevented him from doing so.Costello recalled,

Against Costello's wishes, his American record company, Columbia, insisted on releasing the song as the first single from "King of America".The single reached number 33 in the UK and 22 in Ireland, but did not chart in the US.