Ranking 60th for the year, this song was one of several from Everything That Happens Will Happen Today which appeared on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop singles poll for 2008—"Life Is Long" placed 337, "My Big Nurse" was 350, "Everything That Happens" ended up at 748, and "I Feel My Stuff" reached 942.
The song was listed at number seven on the 2001 Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau.
When The Village Voice held their Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1981, Wild Gift was ranked at #2, behind Sandinista! by the Clash.