Cash Box said that the song illustrated Sting's "genius as songwriter," although it is "tinged with melancholy" and "less jazzy and more Police-like than Sting's previous US single, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free."
According to Cash Box, the song demonstrates Sting's songwriting prowess, though it carries a melancholic undertone and leans towards a Police sound rather than his previous US hit, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free."