Songfacts®:

• Hillary Scott duets with her mom Linda Davis on this song. Linda Davis is a country star in her own right, having topped Hot Country Songs in 1993 with the Reba McEntire duet "Does He Love You."
• Billboard magazine commented that the mother and daughter harmonies sounded pretty similar. Scott replied: "There's one part on the song, 'The River,' where I asked her if the finished harmonies were matched with her singing with herself. It's actually me, harmonizing with her, and it's just kind of chilling that our voices are so closely matched."
• Cheryl and Sharon White from the Whites provided vocals on the track as well. Scott said: "When we found that song, 'The River,' it wasn't a duet initially, but it just felt like it really lended itself to that."
  
  "I loved the thought of it being the all-female song," she continued. "I just kept envisioning these really strong, amazing women of all ages all walking through life together, walking down to the river to get baptized together, and just that community and how important it is to nurture friendships with other women, of all ages, as a woman, and learning from each other."