For decades, people have long pondered the true meaning behind Britney Spears’ debut single, “…Baby One More Time.” In urging her lover to “hit me baby one more time,” was she craving to be literally smacked for reasons of masochistic delight? Or was she referring to being fucked just once more by her ex?
The real answer has now been revealed by the Swedish songwriters themselves, Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. Quite simply, the phrase stemmed from their perhaps not so robust knowledge of U.S. slang at the time, referring to the term “Hit me up”–as in on the phone (which could have been a land line or cell back in 1999).
Such a simplistic interpretation of the immortal track has left many fans of the song reeling, in disbelief over what they thought was a far more poignant referral to pain, whether physical or emotional. But alas, the song’s true context merely adds to the datedness of it, which is further compounded by the keyboard intro. “Call me, baby one more time?” Really Britney? Then again …Baby One More Time was also the album that contained such other antiquated technological reference songs as “E-Mail My Heart.” In a way, however, one could argue that “…Baby One More Time” blazed the trail for the Drake lyric, “You used to call me on my cell phone.”
