Songfacts®:

• Urban said about this song on Roughstock: "I wrote this song with John Shanks. This came from a personal experience. 'My Heart Is Open' just hit me as a beautiful thing to say. My wife said it to me very early in our relationship and it moved me so much. I asked her how her heart was, and she said that her heart was open. I wasn't expecting that answer. I thought, "What a great way for a heart to be."
• Urban's co-producer, Dann Huff told USA Today that Nicole Kidman was a frequent presence in his home studio while they recorded. He said: "She would close her eyes and just absorb the music that (we) had been laboring over."
• Urban told The Washington News Tribune that this song was inspired by two words that Nicole Kidman uttered during the early stages of their relationship. He explained: "That song came from a conversation I had with my wife when we had just started dating. I asked her how her heart was, which is a really strange question. I don't know why I asked that question the way I did, but I guess it was just a way of finding out - where are you at? I don't know... is there a chance for us to go forward?" Nicole's simple reply was "It's open." Urban reflected: "I was really taken aback by that answer on so many levels. I thought it was an amazing thing to say, a really brave thing to say, to admit that to me. And I guess it made me ask myself, too... is my heart really open? I mean, I think it is, but maybe it isn't. Maybe I've got it a little bit closed, because it's terrifying to let somebody in."