Written by Moby, who also performs vocals on the recording, "Porcelain" is a melancholic song with lyrics reflecting on the breakup of a relationship.

One of the most successful singles from Play, "Porcelain" became a top five hit in the United Kingdom and entered various other national record charts.

Music critics have highlighted "Porcelain" as a standout track on Play, and it has also been included on several year-end and all-time lists of the best songs.

"[7] Composed in the key of E♭ major and running at a tempo of 96 beats per minute, "Porcelain" follows a constant four-chord progression (Gm−B♭−Fm−A♭) in the B♭ mixolydian mode, with the exception of a bridge midway through the song.

Entertainment Weekly's David Browne deemed "Porcelain" a standout track on Play, praising it as a "gorgeous" song anchored by Moby's "plaintive" vocal performance.

[29] Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis found the song "emotional and gripping" and remarked that if it "didn't move you (in every sense of the word), then you probably had no pulse.

"[30] Alexandra Marshall of MTV described "Porcelain" as "a lush little snippet which sounds like a basement tape from a Magnetic Fields EP.

[36] Liana Jonas of AllMusic referred to "Porcelain" as "a groundbreaking recording", noting that the song's commercial success "helped bring electronica music into the limelight.

[42] The second video, directed by Nick Brandt,[41][43] follows a driverless 1972 Cadillac DeVille, in which Moby is a passenger, as it travels through a city and a countryside, passing various people in slow motion.