Bed Chem

Album

Short n' Sweet

Label

Island Records

Genre

Synth-popxxx

Composer(s)

Sabrina Carpenter;Julia Michaels;Amy Allen;John RyanIan Kirkpatrick

Entered Chart

Sep 7, 2024

Peak Date

Sep 7, 2024

Released

October 8, 2024

Recorded

The Perch (Calabasas, California) Juicy Hill (The Bahamas) The Playpen (Calabasas, California)

B-Side

"Bed Chem (Instrumental)"

"Bed Chem" is one of those tracks that manages to be both sultry and playfully tongue-in-cheek. Sabrina's got a major crush on someone, and she's daydreaming about all the fun they'd have together. The title is a cheeky abbreviation of "bedroom chemistry," a phrase that Carpenter and her friend Paloma Sandoval coined. "I went to the studio that day," she told Paper magazine," and was like, 'I have this title and idea, and we have to make it sexy and a little bit unserious at the same time because it is such a ridiculous concept." Carpenter fantasizes about what it would be like to share a bed with someone she's intensely drawn to. And who might that someone be? All signs point to Barry Keoghan, the Irish actor of Saltburn fame who reportedly started dating Carpenter in late 2023. There are several clues he is the subject of her crush. Who's the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent? The pair first crossed paths at Givenchy's Spring-Summer 2024 show in September 2023, where Keoghan made quite an impression in a white jacket, his accent likely sealing the deal. Said you're not in my timezone, but you wanna be This references the eight-hour time difference between Carpenter's Los Angeles home and Keoghan's London base. Who's the cute guy with the wide, blue eyes and the big bad mm? Keoghan indeed has big blue eyes, though we cannot confirm the size of his manhood. Carpenter wrote the dreamy flirtation with songwriters Julia Michaels and Amy Allen, along with the song's producers, John Ryan and Ian Kirkpatrick. The same five also penned the Short n' Sweet track "Taste." The groove is steeped in early 2000s pop and R&B. It's a deliberate nod to the music Carpenter grew up on - think Christina Aguilera at her peak. "I love Christina," she told Paper. "That was one of my very first idols and icons. I was 11 years old and you couldn't get her name out of my mouth. She's very special to me. Those songs raised me." This song is Barry Keoghan's pick of the Short n' Sweet tracks. "Bed Chem my fave just saying m'darlin," he wrote on Instagram Stories.

I was in a sheer dress the day that we met
We were both in a rush, we talked for a sec
You're friendin' me up so we could connect
And what are the odds? You sent me a text
And now, the next thing I know, I'm like
Manifest that you're oversized
I digress, got me scrollin' like
Out of breath, got me goin' like

Ooh (ah)
Who's the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent? Like
Ooh (ah)
Maybe it's all in my head, but I thought we'd have really good bed chem

How you pick me up, pull me down, turn me 'round, oh, it just makes sense
How you talk so sweet when you're doin' bad things
That's bed (bed) chem (chem)
How you're lookin' at me, yeah, I know what that means, and I'm obsessed
Are you free next week? I thought we'd have really good-

Come ride on me, I mean, camaraderie
Said you're not in my timezone but you wanna be
Where art thou? Why not upon-eth me?
See it in my mind, let's fulfill the prophecy

Ooh (ah)
Who's the cute guy with the wide, blue eyes and the big bad mm? Like
Ooh (ah)
I know it sound a bit redundant, but I thought we'd have really good bed chem

How you pick me up, pull me down, turn me 'round, oh, it just makes sense (just makes sense)
How you talk so sweet when you're doin' bad things
That's bed (bed) chem (oh, that's bed chem)
How you're lookin' at me, yeah, I know what that means, and I'm obsessed (so obsessed)
Are you free next week? I thought we'd have really good (bed chem)

And I bet we'd both arrive at the same time (bed chem)
And I bet the thermostat's set at six-nine (bed chem)
And I bet it's even better than in my head (my, ooh)

How you pick me up, pull me down, turn me 'round, oh, it just makes sense (just makes sense)
How you talk so sweet when you're doin' bad things
That's bed chem (oh, that's bed chem)
How you're lookin' at me, yeah, I know what that means, and I'm obsessed (so obsessed)
Are you free next week? (Are you free next week?) I thought we'd have really good-

Ha (make me go), ha
And I know
Ha (make me go), ha
And I know
Ha (make me go), ha
And I know
Ha (make me go), ha
Ooh, oh, baby
(A little fade out?)