"Sunday Morning" received largely positive reviews from music critics who frequently deemed it a standout track on Tragic Kingdom.

The song was not released as a commercial single in the United States, making it ineligible to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart due to rules at the time.

The band has performed the single during many of their live appearances, including at their 1995–97 Tragic Kingdom World Tour and while serving as the guest musical act on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in April 1997.

The song was written by Eric Stefani prior to his departure from the group, who left due to creative differences in the beginning of 1995.

[2][3] Because of his absence, Gwen Stefani resumed the role as a songwriter which resulted in ultra-personal songs that described her personal and romantic life.

[3] Songs written during this period were anticipated for inclusion on Tragic Kingdom (1995), the group's third studio album and first with Interscope Records since their debut, No Doubt, in 1992.

[1][19] Rolling Stone's Chris Heath compared the sound of "Sunday Morning" to English singer Kim Wilde's 1981 debut single "Kids in America".

Instrumentation consists of Kanal on Bass, Adrian Young on drums and percussion, Tom Dumont on guitar, Eric Stefani on piano and keyboards, and Phil Jordan on trumpet.

[20] According to the official sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Sunday Morning" is set in common time and has a moderately fast tempo of 157 beats per minute.

[1] According to the liner notes of the group's 2003 greatest hits album, The Singles 1992–2003, Stefani brainstormed the lyrics to "Sunday Morning" after speaking with Kanal through a bathroom door while at his parents' house in Yorba Linda, California.

[23] Chris Heath from Rolling Stone described the song as "one of the meanest" on Tragic Kingdom and summarized the lyrical content as "Girl used to go out with boy and act pathetic and over-dependent, but now the tables are turned".

[24] Mike Boehm from the Los Angeles Times stated that "Sunday Morning" is an example of "the band's improved craft" on Tragic Kingdom and complimented its ability to correlate well with the conceptual themes of the album.

[26] Alex McLevy was critical of Tragic Kingdom but wrote: "Luckily, 'Sunday Morning' is there to remind you just how good the band can be when it gets the recipe right.

[26] In a poll held by Rolling Stone in 2016, Brittany Spanos asked her readers to vote on "The 10 Best Gwen Stefani Songs".

"Sunday Morning" took fourth place and Spanos' consensus stated: "Stefani is a powerhouse on the raucous, bitter single.

"[27] "Sunday Morning" was not released as a commercial single in the United States and therefore was ineligible to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Their music captures the attention of a lonesome man (Terry Hall) strolling past them, who decides to watch them play from a nearby swing.

As the song's chorus begins, Stefani sits down in a chair, changes into a leopard pair of shoes, and departs the garage in order to shop at a nearby grocery store.

As Stefani slices a tomato with a knife, she cuts her finger and Dumont accidentally drops a kettle of spaghetti sauce on the floor.

[19] At the Rock Steady Tour in 2002, No Doubt performed "Sunday Morning" after opening the concert with their 2002 single "Hella Good".

[44] At the inaugural Rock in Rio USA music festival in 2015, No Doubt headlined the main stage during the first day of the event.

[47] At the shows, Stefani wore a tank top stylized with her name in black, sports red lipstick, and her signature platinum blonde hair.