The lyrics of the song relate to a 1940s Los Angeles–based group called "Nature Boys", a subculture of proto-hippies of which Ahbez was a member.

"Nature Boy" was the subject of lawsuits, with Yiddish composer Herman Yablokoff claiming that it was plagiarized from his song "Shvayg mayn harts" (שװײג מײן האַרץ, "Be Still My Heart").

It was also used in numerous films like The Boy with Green Hair (1948), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and the 2001 musical Moulin Rouge!, for which singer David Bowie recorded a version.

The café was owned by John and Vera Richter, who followed a Naturmensch (nature person) and Lebensreform (life reform) philosophy influenced by the Wandervogel (Wandering Bird) movement in Germany.

However, his pleas were ignored and a disappointed ahbez left the sheet music of "Nature Boy" with Cole's valet, Otis Pollard.

[15] Various interpretations of the line are given by academics, with the eponymous nature boy being a child, advising on love and relationship, or an adult hippie talking about his journey and inner-love.

[22] "Nature Boy" went on to sell a million copies in 1948 and Billboard DJs listed it as the greatest record of the year, with the song accumulating a total of 743 points.

Author Krin Gabbard noted in his book, Jammin' at the Margins: Jazz and the American Cinema, that Cole had to wear white makeup while filming for the performance of the song.

Author Ted Gioia noted in his book, The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire, that all the musicians "who had created the golden age of American popular song had their quirks and idiosyncrasies, but eden ahbez demands pride and place as the most eccentric of them all".

He added that, along with promoting the hippie culture, with "Nature Boy", ahbez and Cole were able to introduce a new era for black artists in white popular music.

[20] Stephen Cook from AllMusic said that the song transformed Cole into "one of the most famous and beloved pop singing stars of the postwar years".

[32] Billboard noted that such was the popularity of the song that audiences would only stay in theaters to see Cole perform "Nature Boy", and leave once he finished.

[35] Novelist Steve Erickson in Los Angeles magazine gave a detailed positive review of the song: "Nature Boy" is so otherworldly in its melody and lyric that any number of interpretations over the decades, from Nat Cole's to Alex Chilton's, have never been able to make it ordinary.

[37] When met with a lawsuit in 1951 for the plagiarization, ahbez first proclaimed his innocence, and telephoned Yablokoff to explain that he "had heard the melody as if angels were singing it... in the California mountains.

[13][38] Freidwald remarked that "it struck no one as ironic that a song with message of love and peace should come to symbolize how cutthroat the pop music business was becoming".

[20] RCA Records planned to release versions by singers Perry Como and Bing Crosby, but they were subsequently cancelled due to the ban.

[45] Peggy Lee's version of "Nature Boy" was recorded in 1948, but released in 1995 as part of the compilation album, Why Don't You Do Right?

Howard Reich from the Chicago Tribune was impressed with the cover saying that "the mood of reverie and awe [that Lincoln] expresses in 'Nature Boy' epitomize this album's haunting appeal.

[51] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said that the decision to include "Nature Boy" in A New Day Has Come was inspired by the song's appearance in Baz Luhrmann's musical, Moulin Rouge!

[55] On the tenth season of American Idol, contestant Casey Abrams presented a jazz version of the song, which was received with a standing ovation from the audience, but faced criticism from the media for the "strange" musical arrangements.

Bennett's quartet was present, including Mike Renzi, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones and Marshall Wood as well as pianist Tom Lanier.

The songs were handpicked by Bennett and Gaga; they selected tracks from the Great American Songbook including "Nature Boy".

According to Kory Grow of Rolling Stone, Gaga sings in a Liza Minnelli inspired voice with a breathy range, followed by Bennett complimenting her with the story of meeting the titular character.

Preceding the release, Gaga tweeted about the background of the song, about the death of flutist Horn, as well as about ahbez, saying "This composer was part of a sub-culture of nomadic hippies!

[66][67] Gil Kaufman from MTV News gave a positive review, saying that "This song sounds like what you imagine a smoky jazz club in 1940s New York would feel like.

[65] Dave Lewis from HitFix believed that the "magic" of the song really happened once Bennett's vocals were heard, following Gaga's singing and the orchestration.

[69] Alexa Camp from Slant Magazine gave a negative review, saying that her timbre in "Nature Boy" appeared inconsistent, "shifting from soft and almost pleasant to parodic and comical, often within just a few short bars".

[78] In the book Music, Movies, Meanings, and Markets: Cinemajazzamatazz, author Morris Holbrook described the song as a "nondiegetic performance", exemplifying the plot development and sexual tension in the scene featuring Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) and Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) playing chess, naked, and later in a bathtub scene.

"Nature Boy" was initially arranged as a techno song with singer David Bowie's vocals, before being sent to the group Massive Attack, whose remix was used in the film's closing credits.

[86] On December 25, 2016, 20th Century Fox released a teaser trailer for the British-American science-fiction horror film, Alien: Covenant, using a cover of "Nature Boy" by singer Aurora, as the background score.