During the verses, Kim Deal recites repetitive lines with a seductive shyness. The song intensifes at the jubilant chorus, which is signaled by pelting snare rolls. They unleash layers of guitar distortion alongside Deal's distorted, transmitted vocals shouting: "Hey now, hey now/I want you Koo Koo, Cannonball." Its musical arrangement features stuttering, start-and-stop transitions before evening out into an infectious, melodic hook layered with sweet vocal harmonies, with Deal and the band repeating the line: "In the shade/In the shade." "Cannonball" employs a false ending, pausing for a whole measure and then crashing into its chorus and shifting in another full verse and chorus before coming to an abrupt halt.