"[6] Sean Lang of Consequence of Sound commented the chorus was about that "he has what he always wanted, yet contentment eludes him, and, wrapped up in the busyness of what his life has become, he knows he ought to call home.

He wrote that the track "picks up where 'Flume' left off, straight-faced and humble, with an ode to the mother invoked so early in the Bon Iver canon.

"[11] Sean Lang and Samantha Lopez of Consequence of Sound commended "Hey Ma" as the website's Track of the Week.

[7] Despite his mixed review for the associated album, Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian praised the song as one of the best Bon Iver tracks.

"Its proper melody all the more tangible for coming after the mere simulacra before it; it has a subtle, powerful head-nod rhythm, and real bite to the scorn of its central lyric, 'full time you talk your money up / while it's living in a coal mine'," he added.

[12] Damien Morris of The Observer said that the peak of i, i happened somewhere around the heartstopping beauty of 'Hey, Ma's' drifting, wordless middle eight, a breakdown brimming with inarticulate emotion, barely understood, unmediated.