Mathias, who was selling posters and postcards of his photography locally, was contacted by the Waterboys' New York-based management company via the Glastonbury shop Gothic Image.

He considered the medium to taint the listener's relationship with a song and spoil their imagination of it by presenting imagery that was often "shallow and moronic".

Scott suggested and controlled the vision for the video for "The Return of Pan", but was still left disappointed by the results as it was "a thousand miles from the intent of the song".

Downer's attempts to rectify that by directing him more closely only worsened Scott's experience, making him feel like "a prisoner in my own promo: a kind of animated, patronised prop".

He recalled in his autobiography, "Worst of all, every time the chorus came round the dry ice footage showed me portentously sticking my head, Jehovah-like, from a cloud high above Glastonbury Tor.

And because viewers assume artists to be complicit in their videos, it made me look like an egotist with a messiah complex who thought I was god."

[12] Penny Kiley of the Liverpool Echo commented, "The song is very Mike Scott with its meditative verse, celebratory chorus and ragbag of spiritual references.

"[13] Paul Moody of NME was more critical of the song, calling it "not a recommendation" and stating that it is "as pompous as the title suggests", with Scott "bellowing 'I've just found God!'

"[14] Richard Plunkett of the Australian newspaper The Age stated, "Scott has long been touted as one of the big hopes of rock music, and the Celtic-influenced singer-songwriter excels himself here.

There's the epitomical 'Glastonbury Song': it may sound like glossy pop-rock, but the lyric reveals a Scott pining for simple, mud-caked values.

"[16] Stereo Review noted, "The lightness of touch, traditional instrumentation, and pantheistic-minded celebrations that have typified the Waterboys from Fisherman's Blues forward are evident in 'Glastonbury Song'.

"[17] CD Review wrote, "Scott still manages to provide some light melodic relief with 'Glastonbury Song' and 'Corn Circles,' recalling his more typical work and English roots.

"[19] In a 2017 retrospective on the "best of Mike Scott", Tom Doyle of Q included "Glastonbury Song" as one of ten tracks on the list and described it as a "staccato groover with cryptic lyric that sparks with the joy of enlightenment".