Songfacts®:

• Adams was born in and bought up in the town of Jacksonville in North Carolina. In this song, the narrator longs to return home to his sweet Carolina. One of Adams' three 2005 albums was titled Jacksonville City Nights.
• Adams wrote this song in the back of the Niagara bar in Niagara, New York, at a time when he was completely broke. He explained to Rolling Stone: "Jesse [Malin, local punk hero and Niagara co-owner] let me come in and get a couple pops, and I'd scribble away. I didn't go in there, get f---ed up and expect to walk out with anything. It'd be like my coffee shop, except I'd nurse a beer, look around, catch wind of different conversations or just isolate myself. I tend to need a little white noise when I write."
• One of Ryan Adams' heroes, Emmylou Harris, sang backup on this track. Adams' grandmother was a big fan of Harris and it was through her that he first came across the singer. She was one of his first crushes but fortunately Adams didn't make a fool of himself when he got to record with the country star. He recalled to Rolling Stone: "I was overwhelmed by her voice and who she was. Thankfully, I managed to act low-key around her."
• Pat Sansone plays the piano on this track. In 2004, the multi-instrumentalist joined the alternative rock band Wilco.
• Heartbreaker was Adams solo debut album. It was inspired by the breakup of his relationship with actress-musician Carrie Hamilton. He recalled to Rolling Stone that it was titled after the Mariah Carey song of the same name: "My manager called and said, 'You have 15 seconds to name this record.' My eyes focused on this poster of Mariah wearing a T-shirt that said HEARTBREAKER. I just shouted, 'Heartbreaker!'"
• It was Heartbreaker producer Ethan Johns who recruited Emmylou Harris for this song. He recalled to Uncut: "As soon as Ryan sang 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' in the motel, I heard Emmy's voice in my head. I remember the moment. I still have my notes from that night. It's right there. I called her up and she came down and sang. She was incredible. She always is."