Call Me Maybe: Bad Song or am I Too Picky?

[lvstephanie]

Lately I've been hearing Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" a lot on the radio. In addition to the music being too sweet of a pop song for my taste, I also have a few disagreements about word usage in the lyrics. Although I understand what is trying to be said, I think that she is using the incorrect word(s) for what she is attempting to say.

Take the title / refrain of the song "Call me maybe." If you include the implicit subject "you", the sentence could be correctly read as "You, call me maybe". Since maybe is an adverb (in this case), it is modifying the verb "call". The definition of "maybe" is "perhaps", "possibly", and "it is possible that". Taking these synonyms and replacing it for the word maybe, and you get sentences like "It is possible that you should call me" or "Perhaps you should call me" suggesting that the uncertainty lies with the singer. There is a chance that the singer wants "you" to call. However the intent of the lyrics is to suggest that "you" has the uncertainty in the situation... The singer gave a guy she just met her phone number and wants him to call her back. But he is the one that has the decision to make as to whether to call her back or not. It would be correct for him to say "Maybe I will call you", but for her to say "Call me maybe" sounds as though she has the decision to make and she will let him know at a future date whether he should call her or not. Thus she should be singing "So call me if you want", although I understand that by making that change in the lyrics changes the rhyming and rhythm of the lyrics, which is why she chose the (incorrect) word "maybe" to express that uncertainty of knowing if he will decide to call.

The next phrase I have a problem with comes with a mixing of conjunctives. The phrase is "And all the other boys / Trying to chase [change?] me / But here's my number / So call me maybe". The phrase has two conjunctive words: "and" and "but" (at least in the focus of my discussion). "And" means "in addition to" whereas "but" means "except for". The two words are essentially cancelling each other out; if you were to remove one of the words, the sentence's meaning changes drastically: "And all the other boys trying to chase me, here's my number so call me maybe" sounds like she's giving all of the boys her number while "All the other boys trying to chase me, but here's my number so call me maybe" sounds like there is an implicit "despite" or "except for" in the first conjoined phrase suggesting that he shouldn't be concerned with the other boys, because she's just giving him her number. Putting both words in the lyrics makes the meaning ambiguous (expect in context you assume that she is meaning the latter sentence). It would've been better (semantically at least) if she sang "Despite all the other boys trying to chase me, but here's my number so call me maybe".

Finally there is the phrase "Before you came into my life / I missed you so bad". The definition of "miss" is "a failure to hit a target" or "to notice the absence of". When you miss someone, you notice the absence of that person and have a longing for that person. "I miss my friend that's out in Iraq" and "I miss my dog that ran away from home." are a couple of examples. However, int the lyrics, the first part of that line says "before you came into my life" meaning before "you" were a target for which the singer could attach any feelings towards. So that line doesn't make any sense. You cannot long for or miss something that you cannot target. If this guy wasn't in her life, she couldn't have noted the absence of him (in particular) in her life. Now what she is trying to say is that before she knew this guy, she missed having a man (a love, relationship, etc.). So it would have been much better were the lyrics "Before you came into my life / I missed love so bad" since love is a feeling that she could have experienced before but is now missing that feeling (until he showed up in her life).

What do you think? Are these valid criticisms or am I just being too picky?

[hawkeye3210]

I think it's just a fun song. It gets the people going.

[Skyisbluetoday]

Wow, you have a lot to write about this song! I think it's a different way to write a song! Now day's there's a lot of song's and not easy to write one! Too picky nah, you have a right not to like a song!

[little_lady1982]

I like it.It's a catchy song.

[lena3018]

I work at a retail store and I always hear this song and yes it is very catchy. There are lots of song where if you look at the lyrics and really think about what they are saying it sounds crazy. I like it and as I type it is in my head now and might be all day. I think you can be picky not everybody is going to like the same songs all the time. Just please don't get mad if you find yourself singing along to it one day

[lvstephanie]

I think karma may be after me, since after I wrote my post, I hopped into my car to go to lunch.... Guess what song was on the radio?! 

I agree that it is catchy, and that may also be why I don't really care for the song. It seems like it's on the radio all the time, is very catchy, and so you tend to get it stuck in your head. I know there was a bartender that got sick of Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup for pretty much the same reason; everyone that came in the bar wanted to listen to that song, the song itself was very catchy, and so you ended up getting it stuck in your head, whether you wanted to or not.

[nickylanena]

You messed up some of the lyrics, but I get your points. I think it's a fairly good song. I guess you can't expect the lyrics to be completely correct since the song is meant to be simple and catchy.

[beatsdrop]

It's rather annoying, and I hate how much it gets into my head. D:

[Storm61115]

well, i dont look that deep into songs but i think there is something wrong with that song but i do like it.

[lena3018]

I think karma may be after me, since after I wrote my post, I hopped into my car to go to lunch.... Guess what song was on the radio?! 

I agree that it is catchy, and that may also be why I don't really care for the song. It seems like it's on the radio all the time, is very catchy, and so you tend to get it stuck in your head. I know there was a bartender that got sick of Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup for pretty much the same reason; everyone that came in the bar wanted to listen to that song, the song itself was very catchy, and so you ended up getting it stuck in your head, whether you wanted to or not.

Haha don't you hate when that happens lol . What sucks for me is my CD player in my car stopped working so all I hear when I am driving is the same old songs over and over.