Don't Tell Me (Madonna Song) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic called it a "folk-psych track" and picked it as one of the best songs on the album. Cynthia Fuchs from PopMatters wrote that the song "is another near miss, with admirable attitude but, well, laughable lyrics: "Tell me love isn't true, it's that something that we do" or better, "Tell the bed not to make" (hmmm)." Ben Greenbank from Sputnikmusic wrote that the song "has a country meets dance feel to it, although the beats are very trip hop infused the acoustic riff sounds very folksy and to her credit the combination of two rabidly different genres works excellently." NME called it an "alt-alt-country, hacked-up acoustic guitar over knife-sharp beats."

While reviewing her second compilation album, Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine commented about the track:

"'Don't Tell Me' was the most unlikely follow-up to 2000's 'Music'. Stop-and-go guitar riffs, an atypical structure and peculiar lyrics ('Tell the bed not to lay/Like the open mouth of a grave/Not to stare up at me/Like a calf down on its knees') made it an unlikely hit to boot. But a hit is exactly what it was, earning Madonna her 27th Top 5 hit and 24th gold single (tying the Beatles). "Don't Tell Me" found Madonna at her most soulful, with a vocal performance reminiscent of the forceful tone of "Express Yourself."

In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their top 20 favorite Madonna singles of all time by Q magazine, "Don't Tell Me" won the #13 spot. In 2005, the song placed at #285 on Blender magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".