He praised the song for avoiding sentimentality and cliché in its approach to the subject matter, and for Robbie McIntosh's lengthy and expressive guitar solo at the end.

[3] Mother Jones writer Ariel Swartley felt that the song showed Hynde as being more fiery yet more compassionate in light of her newborn child, with lines like "Welcome to a special place/In a heart of stone that's cold and grey/You with your angel face/Show me the meaning of the word."

[4] Washington Post writer Joe Sasfy considered "Show Me" to be a "stunning pop song" and a "somewhat uncharacteristic, at least for Hynde, [expression] of the value of love and hope.

"[5] Akron Beacon Journal reporter Glenn Gamboa called in a "gorgeous love song" in which Hynde characteristically combines good and bad by incorporating lines such as "Welcome to the human race, with its wars, disease, and brutality".

[6] Journal Times critic Len LaCare similarly said that "Hynde's tunes pack layers of meaning and emotion into a hard-edged, bare-bones package of guitar riffs and unadorned drum beats.