Credited to vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, "Ask" is an ostensibly upbeat, positive pop song built around major chords.

Craig Gannon, who at the time was rhythm guitarist for the group, has claimed he wrote – and was denied credit for – the song's chord structure.

[1] The song's lyric includes the couplet "Writing frightening verse / To a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg", which has been interpreted as a reference to Morrissey's youth, in which he frequently wrote letters to pen pals.

[2] Simon Goddard, the author of Mozipedia, also traces the line "Nature is a language - can't you read?"

"[1] Goddard additionally commented on the lyric as a whole, writing: "...a superficial plea to liberate one's inhibitions, the crux of 'Ask' appears to be its protagonist's own fizzling sexual repression, amplified in Morrissey's exaggerated use of upper case in its printed lyrics [sic] and his vivid metaphor of sexual desire as a unifying explosive.

[4] The song contains over five guitar parts, including duelling strumming between Marr and guitarist Craig Gannon, who played Martin acoustics.

[...] Up until the release of 'Ask' I still thought I'd be given a writing credit.Goddard states that "[a]s a common ascending chord configuration, it's not beyond reason that Gannon may have stumbled across something very close to it.

However, without necessarily disputing Gannon's claim [...] Marr had used the exact same chord sequence within a home demo of what later became 'Is It Really So Strange?'

several months earlier and was subconsciously predisposed to those specific chords to use them again as the basis of 'I Won't Share You'.

[2] Marr was unhappy with the song's final mix, commenting, "I couldn't understand why it was being tampered with because it all came together very simply and with a definite sense of purpose.

The version that appears on the single releases and the compilation The Very Best of The Smiths (2001) fades out slightly sooner and has the vocal track lasting until the end of the song.