[14][15] The song's lyrics describe a beach party while mentioning both real and imagined marine animals ("There goes a dogfish, chased by a catfish, in flew a sea robin, watch out for that piranha, there goes a narwhal, here comes a bikini whale!

The chorus features Pierson and Wilson singing a long "ahhh" at an ascending pitch, followed by Schneider exclaiming the phrase "rock lobster!".

[16][17] Instruments used in the music include a baritone-tuned surf-style Mosrite electric guitar, a Farfisa combo organ, and drums.

"[22] British music writer Garry Mulholland included "Rock Lobster" in his 2002 book This is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk and Disco, describing the song as "enormouslly complex in form".

He highlighted its "incredible dance-rock rhythm section" and the "immediately unique and pleasurable" sound that the band had created, and concluded: "Sadly, I've only just worked out that, when Schneider hollers, 'That's satanic butter!'

[12] Pitchfork said: "It's constructed like prog rock, sounds like the avant-garde, has surreal lyrics and one of pop's most memorable guitar riffs.

The structure is closer to prog-rock, or Brian Wilson's "pocket symphony" Good Vibrations, than anything typically found in new wave.

[25]The version of "Rock Lobster" released by Warner Bros. was the band's first single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached No.

[24][40] In the spring of 1980, John Lennon, whose post-Beatles music career had been on hiatus for nearly five years while focusing on raising his son Sean, was prompted to record again after hearing "Rock Lobster".

[44] The song appears in the Family Guy episodes "The Cleveland–Loretta Quagmire" (in which Peter plays it on guitar),[45] and "Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q" (as "Iraq Lobster").

[53] On May 15, 2024, it was announced that the city of Athens, Georgia - where the B-52's were formed - would name their Federal Prospects Hockey League team the Rock Lobsters, honoring the song and the band.

[54] The decision came after an online poll that began in April 2024 closed with two options for a team name: The Rock Lobsters or the Classic City Panic.