Critical reception The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Rockfeedback, who rated the track 3 out of 5 stars, reviewed the song as "Very polished, insanely catchy, and heart-on-sleeve this record is. Dramatically expressive lyrics ('Did you think that I would cry, on the phone...?', 'My heart is crushed by a former love!'), ultra-glossy production and a ridiculously infectious chorus: you wouldn't bet against them."
Contactmusic.com said "The melody is appealing and its pop punk sounds like something from
Simple Plan or
Blink 182. The lyrics are slightly baffling with 'swing, swing, swing from the tangles of' - a classic example."
MusicOMH regarded "Swing, Swing" as "top form" and commented with "These small-town American, fun rockers are hard to dislike. Swing Swing swings along pleasantly enough, developing from an organ intro to a good-natured, old-style rock out that does just what you expect it to. Rock, that is", while
City Life praised the track as "imaginative" and that "The use of a church organ gives way to a totally catchy - if formulaic - college rock anthem. Vocals are typically American high-pitched angst, while the simple "Swing-Swing" chorus should guarantee favourable radio play on both sides of the Atlantic."
Chart performance Upon release, "Swing, Swing" gained attention on Los Angeles modern rock radio station
KROQ-FM and
WXRK in New York City. When
The All-American Rejects was re-released in early 2003, "Swing, Swing" gained more commercial success; peaking at number eight on the US
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, number 60 on the US
Billboard Hot 100, and number 13 on the
UK Singles Chart. It is the band's highest-charting single in the UK. "Swing, Swing" was digitally released in 2005, reaching number 75 on the
Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart. It also briefly returned to the UK Singles Chart in April 2009 at number 99. ==Music video==