Jones has claimed that the song was about Elvis Presley, adding that "he always was that dirty white boy who changed the shape of music completely.

"[3] Billboard described "Dirty White Boy" as "a driving guitar/bass propelled rocker spearheaded by a forceful lead vocal and tight harmonic support.

"[6] Rolling Stone critic David Fricke said that it is "powered by guitarist-songwriter Mick Jones' jackhammer riffing and Dennis Elliott's ham-fisted drumming" but "free of..,pomp-art, heavy-metal flourishes.

[10] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Eduardo Rivadavia rated "Dirty White Boy" as Foreigner's most underrated song.

[11] Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated it as the band's 3rd most underrated song, calling it "a breezing rock'n'roller" that was "inspired by Elvis Presley and his impact on music," and saying that "it moves along at a high pace, and is blessed with a distinctly distorted solo from Jones.