 Although Urish and Bielen praise many aspects of the song, they do not feel it quite succeeds.Besides criticising the hyperbole of the later lyrics, they also feel that Lennon detracts from his message when without reason he uses Brooklyn pronunciations of "learn" as "loyn", "burn" as "boyn" and "turn" as "toyn" in one of the verses.Lewis also provides a mixed assessment, stating that even Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness "might blanche at some of the assertions," the song is "helped by a spirited funk rock jam, where Yoko's eerie banshee wail on the chorus conjures up curious similarities with The Specials' "Ghost Town".