 Allmusic critic Thom Jurek described the song as "the most seductive tune" on "River of Time" and "The Rolling Stone Album Guide" praised Knopfler's "typically pungent" guitar solo.Alex Bollard and Lex Vandyke have also covered the song.In his book "My Life in Orange", author Tim Guest recalls listening to Dire Straits' version of the song and the line "Water of love, deep in the ground, but there ain't no water here to be found" as a child hiding behind the sofa and wishing that the water of love would come to him some day.