The poem provides insight into the Celtic-speaking culture of early medieval northern England and southern Scotland, as well as possible linguistic evidence for features of the extinct Cumbric language.

The poem, which is 17 lines long, is addressed to the baby boy Dinogad, wrapped in a marten-skin smock in his cradle, and describes how his father used to set out on a hunt.

[2] It can be assumed that Dinogad's father was a powerful individual, as a marten-skin smock would have been an extremely valuable object, and the poem makes reference to his possessing at least eight slaves.

[4] Historian Nicholas Orme argues that this use of the past tense is intended to poignantly remind listeners that fallen British warriors left behind widows and orphans.

[5] In his analysis of the poem, Orme argues that it serves to describe the father's role as provider for the family, comparing it to the modern lullaby Bye, baby Bunting.

[3] Musicologist Joyce Andrews believes that the tender care of the mother for her infant child is referenced in the text, and that by extension the song is connected to "the uniquely female experience of childbirth".

[3] Peis dinogat e vreith vreith.o grwyn balaot ban wreith.chwit chwit chwidogeith.gochanwn gochenyn wythgeith.pan elei dy dat ty e helya;llath ar y ysgwyd llory eny law.ef gelwi gwn gogyhwc.giff gaff.

[6][2] Celticist Thomas Charles-Edwards suggests that the initial addition of "Dinogad's Smock" to the manuscript of the elegiac Gododdin as a marginal note may reflect a recognition by the scribe that the two poems shared a common theme of lament for the dead.

[4] Nicholas Orme states that its inclusion in the manuscript of the Gododdin indicates that the poem was valued as a piece of literature at the time of its recording, rather than being considered a children's song.

The poem lists seven species of game, marten (balaut), roe deer (ywrch), "stag" (hyd), fish (pysc), fox (llwynain), grouse (grugyar), wild boar (gwythwch) and possibly lynx (llewyn).

[1] The mention of marten pelts in an elite context supports the existing archaeological and textual evidence for their use in the fabrication of high status clothing in early medieval Britain.

Kinsey cave is 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of the Cumbrian Derwent, which is the most widely accepted location for the river Derwennydd mentioned in "Dinogad's Smock", making the survival of the lynx in the area into the seventh century plausible.

[13] In 2001 the text of Dinogad´s Smock was set for piano and voices by the Welsh composer Rhian Samuel, as part of her collection Cerddi Hynafol ("Ancient Songs"), commissioned for the Fishguard Festival and published as sheet music by Stainer & Bell.

According to Joyce Andrews, the setting musically accentuates the relationship of a mother to an infant and employs an arpeggiated triplet motive to evoke the rocking of a cradle.

The hunting exploits of Dinogad's father are highlighted with "aggressive, running sixteenth-note patterns and bolder rhythmic melodic motives" while the sounds of nature are illustrated through the presence of "subtle bird calls" in the upper piano range.