Songfacts®:

• White sings of heartbreak on this piano-and-acoustic march. When asked during a pre-release playback for Blunderbuss in London, whether the song is autobiographical, White was unwilling to divulge. "'Hypocritical Kiss' was just an interesting narration," he explained. "When you're a songwriter you get to choose who narrates the tale – first person, third person, male or female. Sometimes you can confuse the listener, and that's what I wanted to do in that song." (Source of quote: The Quietus.)
• The vocal narrative darts between two different perspectives. White told NME: "The narration flips halfway from male to female. It's so the other songs on this record, when it sounds like it's a male accusing a female of doing something, I can just as easily say the guy's doing it to the girl."