Music critic William Ruhlmann describes the lyrics as "more an expression of romantic frustration than the clinical definition of manic depression.
[3] It also features Mitch Mitchell's jazz-influenced drumming[2][4] and a parallel guitar and bass line.
[2] Ruhlmann notes renditions by Seal with Jeff Beck on Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (1993) and King's X on Dogman (1994).
D.C. hardcore band Beefeater included the song, credited as "Manic D.", on their 1985 debut album, Plays for Lovers.
Brooklyn-based crossover thrash band Carnivore covered the song on their 1987 album Retaliation.