Music Review: Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe"

Carly Rae Jepsen

Call Me Maybe

Album: Kiss

Year: 2011

         Carly Rae Jepsen takes a chance in the laidback “Call Me Maybe.”

              Zestful synths open the single, setting an anticipating tone. She was at the mall, trying to find a birthday gift for a friend. She stops at the fountain and searches for a penny in her purse. She puts her head, focusing on the penny and thinks of a wish. When she raises her head, she locks eyes with a handsome guy. She’s been wanting to meet someone special for a long time but had given up. As they exchange a quiet moment over the fountain, her mind has changed. (“I threw a wish in the well/Don't ask me, I'll never tell/I looked to you as it fell/And now you're in my way/I'd trade my soul for a wish/Pennies and dimes for a kiss/I wasn't looking for this/But now you're in my way.”)

           In the pre-chorus, she noticed he hasn’t taken his eyes off of her. Through his torn jeans, she can see part of his tanned, athletic legs. He strikes up a conversation with her. As they walk out the mall together, she teases him, asking him why he’s leaving so soon. (“Your stare was holdin',/Ripped jeans, skin was showin'/Hot night, wind was blowin'/Where do you think you're going, baby?”)

         In the chorus, she likes him and would like to talk with him again. She explains to him that even though they only just met an hour or so ago, she would like to get together with him some time. She’s nervous and reassures him she’s not a psycho. Other guys flirt with her but don’t try to get to know her, which sets him apart. (“Hey, I just met you/And this is crazy/But here's my number/So call me, maybe?/It's hard to look right/At you baby/But here's my number/So call me, maybe?/Hey, I just met you/And this is crazy/But here's my number/So call me, maybe?/And all the other boys/Try to chase me/But here's my number/So call me, maybe?”)

         It’s been a week and nothing. She’s been checking her cellphone any chance she can get. She’s been thinking of him all week and hopes to see him again. He was sweet, goofing around with her in the clothing stores. She had seen him before at school but didn’t get any indication that he liked her back. Finally, at about 3 pm Saturday, he calls. She knows he’s the right guy for her. She would’ve rented a hot air balloon, decorated in neon colors, and done an intrepretive dance to a Britney Spears song inside it, if it meant she could get his attention. It didn’t ever occur to her that the guy she would see sitting in library late at night would be hers one day. (“You took your time with the call/I took no time with the fall/You gave me nothing at all/But still, you're in my way/I beg, and borrow and steal/Have foresight and it's real/I didn't know I would feel it/But it's in my way.”)

        The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.

       In the bridge, she was lonely and dreaming of the perfect boyfriend. She needs someone like him in her life. (“Before you came into my life/I missed you so bad/I missed you so bad/I missed you so, so bad/Before you came into my life/I missed you so bad/And you should know that/I missed you so, so bad/ It's hard to look right,/ At you baby/ But here's my number/So call me, maybe?”

        The second chorus is sung, with parts of the chorus edited out and the bridge added. (“Hey, I just met you.. and all the other boys/Before you came into my life…I missed you so, so bad/Before you came into my life…so call me, maybe? “)

    Jepsen is not the type of girl to hook up at a frat party Other guys, from her classes and in the dorms, hit on her with transparent lines. She’s looking for something long-term and decided to leave it up to fate. When it happens, it will happen and finally, it did.

     Jepsen’s sunny, bashful vocals are warm and friendly. She enjoys life and appreciates what she is given. Life is too short to let someone special slip by, which lets her take the risk and abandon every rule she’s made.

      The free “Call Me Maybe” savors every  perfect moment