[5][6] Music lecturers Ben Urish and Ken Bielen claim that in contrast to expressing the "dawning realization that love was meant to be", as in Lennon's earlier song "Out the Blue", in "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)" Lennon expresses the "sudden astonishment of self-centered lust.
"[7] They explain that Lennon does this by using "marginally connected phrases to approximate the excitement that causes the thoughts to leap ahead of themselves, and their expression to be disrupted as a result.
"[7] Urish and Bielen give as examples the phrases "Natural high...butterfly," "Just like a willow tree...a breath of spring," and "A bird of paradise...sunrise in her eyes.
[10] Lennon eventually came to regard the song as "Just a piece of garbage," although Rogan points out that this assessment may have been motivated by the fact that he was back with Ono by that time.
[2][11] Beatle biographers Chip Madinger and Mark Easter prefer the Anthology version due to lacking Elton John's harmony vocal, which they view as "clumsy", having a faster tempo, and a more prominent clavinet part.