The song's controversial lyrics, "She's just sixteen years old," came about after Tepper made a comment about the 16-year-old girl who used to walk Mardones' basset hound. In an interview with KTLA some time before his death, Mardones says he told Tepper, "She's just 16 years old, leave her alone."

It was written by Stapleton and Dan Wilson and produced by Dave Cobb, Chris and Morgane Stapleton. The song stayed at the number two position for two weeks on the Country Airplay chart. It was nominated and won the Grammy Awards for Best Country Solo Performance and Country Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

The song's lyrics, which refer to riding "the white horse" and "the white pony", have been interpreted as references to heroin and/or cocaine use. Rolling Stone described "White Horse" as "[p]erhaps the most unconvincing anti-drug song of all time".

The music video for “Try That In A Small Town” was removed from CMT following the controversy that includes footage of BLM protests and Aldean playing in front of a Tennessee courthouse where a Black man was lynched. Clips of the protests were subsequently edited out of the video.