“Butterflies” was released along with “Space Cowboy” as the lead singles from Kacey Musgraves' third studio album Golden Hour.

Kacey wrote this song three weeks after meeting her ex-husband, Ruston Kelly. The lyrics of the song indicate that she was just going through the motions of life and was always missing that one piece that she needed. Kelly’s love builds her up and does not bring her down like past relationships, and she feels almost reborn after meeting him.