 The song contains an upbeat opening sequence with a heavy guitar riff.Tom Breihan from Pitchfork Media wrote that the song "begins with über-processed new wave guitars that sort of sound like the Cars".According to a digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Shut Up and Drive" is written in the key of D♭ major and is set in simple time with a moderately fast groove.