 Beatles biographer John Blaney felt that Lennon's need to express his disgust at the incident caused him to write a song that is "a piece of pro-Republican propaganda that ignored the historical facts in favour of emotional blackmail".Music critic Paul du Noyer similarly described the refrains as being too simplistic to address the complexity of the longstanding Irish-British problems, although he acknowledged that they were "heartfelt".Among the controversial lyrics are suggestions that the "Anglo pigs and Scotties" need to go home and the reference to concentration camps (Long Kesh was commonly compared to a concentration camp amongst contemporary critics of the Government's internment policy).