The title song is about a nostalgic searching of the past in order to capture a magic moment almost lost in memory.

[3] In a review for Paste, Andy Whitman wrote: "You expect to encounter a tired legend, a once-mighty king becalmed and tamed by the miles and years.

You find instead an echo of a full-throated roar hanging in the air, the telltale signs of a bloody struggle, and an empty cage.

[11] Thom Jurek of Allmusic concludes that "[the] acoustic 'The Lion This Time' is one of the finest ballads Morrison has cut in decades.

It's carried by the interplay between Morrison's acoustic and Foggy Lyttle's electric guitar fills, and aided by Chieftain Paddy Moloney's whistle.