"[1][5] The lyrics are peppered with other cliches, including more reassuring ones such as "You gotta hang on in," and the refrain ends with the phrase "give me one more chance.

[1][3][6] Music lecturers Ben Urish and Ken Bielen describe "What You Got" as a "blues-tinged rocker with more than a little Latin funk thrown in.

[9] On the other hand, New Musical Express critics Roy Carr and Tony Tyler state that the song "begins as a promising rocker, but by middle-eight time a routine quality has begun to set in and the overall arthritic effect is overpowering, despite the anticipatory oomph of the first eight bars.

"[7] Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine considers it a "middling rocker" that replicates the "bright, sunny surface" of the big hit from Walls and Bridges, "Whatever Gets You thru the Night.

"[11] Far Out critic Tim Coffman rated it as Lennon's 8th greatest deep cut, calling it "a portrait of a man lost without the love of his life" and saying "Set to an early rock and roll shuffle, Lennon turns in a performance which feels like the hardcore equivalent of an early 1960s pop rock song, howling in frustration as the gentle staccato guitars follow his every word.