Lyrically, the song was inspired by John Lydon's experiences with friends within the band throughout its history, who he commented often let him down.

Lyrically the song was inspired by Lydon's experience with band turmoil caused by his friends: "'Disappointed' is what it says, it's just about the many and varied ways people let you down.

"[1] He specifically cited former bandmates Keith Levene and Jah Wobble, of whom he said, "All they've done is turn around and criticize and moan like selfish, whiny spoiled brats and that's an awful thing to see friends behave that way.

"[5] Musically, John McGeoch credited for inspiration an alternate tuning that Who guitarist Pete Townshend had chosen.

He recalled, "I was doing some work at Eel Pie Studios five or six years ago and Townshend had left some guitar cases lying around the place.

"[8] Trouser Press was similarly positive in spite of its mixed view of 9, concluding, "There's no questioning [Lydon's] sincerity in the venomous 'Disappointed.