"As I Lay Me Down" was initially intended for Hawkins' debut album Tongues and Tails, but was excluded after objections from the record label.

With disappointing sales of the first single, "Right Beside You",[citation needed] the song was released with little fanfare (a photograph of Sophie dressed as a sailor was the focus of the cover).

Steve Baltin from Cash Box named "As I Lay Me Down" Pick of the Week, describing it as "a lovely song, gentle as its title indicates.

He wrote further that it's "a refreshing change of pace for the singer-songwriter, who has not received the same attention for this album as for her first simply because she doesn't fit neatly into any category.

"[2] Peter Galvin from Entertainment Weekly gave the song an A− rating, stating that the synth-pop hymn "has resuscitated her career.

[5] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton felt that it's "the kind of gentle ballad that is either best appreciated first thing in the morning or at the end of a long tired day.

Hawkins also performed the songs "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" and "As I Lay Me Down" in the season 4 episode 8 "Herstory of Dance" of the television show Community.