Sweet About Me its own, rather than stiffly wearing its '60s influences like a pair of slightly-too-small cuban heeled boots [similar to that of Duffy]." Mark Reid of "The New Zealand Herald" described the track as "incredibly catchy". The song was classed as an obvious highlight on "Lessons to Be Learned" by Colin Polonowski of The Digital Fix. Andrew Cock of The Dwarf said that "Sweet About Me" is as catchy as ever and will continue to receive wide public acclaim. Cock noted, "At times this song seems so sweet it oozes honey, feeling deliberately boppy." Cilmi's vocal performance on the song was
Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick by Song" that the song was written in Rolvenden, Kent during a jamming session between him and Dury. Jankel relates that the music was inspired by a piano part near the end of "Wake Up and Make Love with Me" (a song on Dury's solo debut "New Boots and Panties!!" that Jankel had co-written) and that after listening to it, Dury presented the lyrics for "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" to him the same afternoon. This was later corroborated by Dury. Dury mentioned a number of origins for his lyrics, including claiming that he had written them up to