The lyrics use terminology associated with the court case and mention other song titles as a satirical comment on the notion of plagiarism in popular music.

[5] He sings that it might be recognisable from his 1975 single "You"; other voices then interject, disagreeing over whether the song sounds more like "I Can't Help Myself" or Fontella Bass's "Rescue Me".

[11] The recording includes Billy Preston on piano and organ, a horn arrangement by Tom Scott,[12] and Monty Python's Eric Idle providing the "ratbag" interjections about the song's originality.

[13] Writing for Goldmine magazine in January 2002, Dave Thompson described "This Song" as "a brilliantly constructed commentary on Harrison's more recent travails".

[14] Billboard described the track as "irresistible" due to its cheerfulness and the way "the words so cleverly play on the concept of trying to write an entertaining non-controversial song".

The clip was first shown on the 20 November 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Paul Simon, in which Harrison was a special musical guest.