Upon its release as a single,
Caitlin Moran of
Melody Maker wrote, "As probably the only person in the world who is willing to stand up and say 'Kirsty MacColl is brilliant,
Kite was a fantastic album, she's written some of the greatest songs to grace the top 20, and you can tell she's a really cool bird who likes a pint', it was an enormous relief to find that 'Caroline' was actually rather better than quite good." Andrew Hirst of the
Huddersfield Daily Examiner felt it was "Not her finest moment, but it's still pretty good" and added, "Kirsty is the mistress of folk-blessed pop and has a voice to match her rich melodies."
The Paisley Daily Express described it as "another typically Kirsty MacColl single, jangly, upbeat, but ultimately a non-event". Emma Forrest of
NME wrote, "Something in me wants to like Kirsty. However, this just isn't good enough. All of a sudden, '
Fairytale of New York' is starting to feel more than a plane ride away." In the US,
Larry Flick of
Billboard stated, "Loosely intended as an Irish-cultured takeoff on Dolly Parton's "Jolene," MacColl swings back into action with tongue placed firmly in cheek. Track has a toe-tapping acoustic tone that frames her vocal to maximum effect." In a review of
Galore, Roch Parisien of the
Times Colonist considered the song "perhaps [McColl's] most potent, direct pop-rock construction yet". Joe Szczechowski of
The News Journal felt it was a "bright, acoustic-based rocker" and Mike Boehm of the
Los Angeles Times described it as "catchy". Patrick Davitt of
The Leader-Post considered the song "excellent pop" with a "strong hint of the "California Sound"." In a retrospective review of the song, Stewart Mason of
AllMusic commented: "A remarkable song both lyrically and musically, it's one of MacColl's biggest triumphs. A country-tinged pop song filled with ultra-jangly guitars and breathy harmonies, [it has] a chorus that
Marshall Crenshaw would kill to have written." ==Track listings==