 The song uses the bar joke as a setting for a brokenhearted man in a bar.It is in the key of C major with a moderate tempo and a main chord pattern of C-G4-F2.Billy Dukes of "Taste of Country" gave the song a favorable review, saying that "While the lyrics are sharp, it's the singer's delivery that makes this song cook…'A Guy Walks Into a Bar' finds him throwing himself into the emotion of a song like never before."