"When people would bring that up, I was like, 'Oh my God, that's so embarrassing!'" Caillat tells TooFab in an interview alongside her new band, Gone West.
In 2007, nothing was bigger than "Bubbly." It was Colbie Caillat's sweet, soft, lullaby-esque tune about falling in love that put the now-34-year-old three-time Grammy winner on the map.
Almost as swiftly as the song grew acclaim, listeners began to try to interpret its lyrics. "It starts in my toes, and I crinkle my nose / Wherever it goes, I always know," she sings in the chorus. "That you make me smile, please, stay for a while now / Just take your time wherever you go."
If you were told the song was about an orgasm, you're not alone. However, you are somewhat wrong -- as both Caillat and the now-bandmate who helped her write it, Jason Reeves, told TooFab they did not have their minds in the gutter when they put pen to paper over a decade ago.
"You know what's funny is the first part of that song literally just came out within minutes, and I had no idea what I was writing it about," Caillat explained via a Skype call from a hotel lobby she and her new band, Gone West, managed to sneak into while en route to the next stop on their tour. "But it does sound like that! Yes, that's what people think that it means, but I don't remember thinking of it like that when it came out of my mouth."
"I gotta be honest," she continued, "when people would bring that up, I was like, 'Oh my God, that's so embarrassing! That's not what I was writing about!' But I don't know what else it could be about. I think I meant butterflies, to be honest with you."
"So here's the thing," an equally amused Reeves added, "you can blame that on me, but just for the record, she's not a dirty person. She's such a sweet girl, so don't put that on her. I'll take the blame if you wanna say that, but that's not what that song's about. It's just about the feeling of love, you know? That could be that, that feeling of love, that magical feeling. So you could put anything into that umbrella if you want to."
Why Kim Petras Is the Pop Princess of Spooky Szn
View StoryLucky for Caillat and Reeves, their significant others found the whole conversation quite amusing, because if anyone understands songwriting and how lyrics are interpreted, it's them. Colbie's fiancé, Justin Kawika Young, and Jason's wife, Nelly Joy, make up the other half of their Nashville-based country group.
But despite how close the two couples are, Jason and Nelly will likely not be invited to Colbie and Justin's wedding because, as of now, their only set plan is to not have a plan.
"We wanna spontaneously elope," Caillat explained. "We're not planners, and we're not necessarily big event people in general, even though it's funny 'cause every day is an event when performing. But not for our wedding; that's not what we have intentions for."
Reeves joked that he and Joy "probably won't even be there 'cause it'll be in the middle of a waterfall somewhere, and they won't tell us!" Neither of the free-spirited love birds denied the possibility.
To see what Colbie, Justin, Jason and Nelly had to say about touring, Taylor Swift and this potential waterfall wedding, watch the video above.
Got a story or a tip for us? Email TooFab editors at tips@toofab.com.