Short N Sweet Part 2

Season 1, Episode 44. 03/17/2025

Intro~

Add clip “Intro Music” to episode

Summary

This episode of RAW-tism is the second part of my deep dive into Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N Sweet album. The full, unabridged version is available on my Patreon.

Like the last episode, allow me to be completely forthright: these episodes are to help me schedule ahead so that I have less to do while taking my first graduate class for my Autism Spectrum Disorder certification. giggles I hope to have time to write episodes as I’m learning so y’all can learn with me, but these episodes will create a cushion so that I can skip a week or two, if needed, to keep up with my studies.

Content warning: First of all, this episode is more about my fascination with these songs than autism. Special interest! Second, this episode will use explicit language in the lyrics of these songs. I usually bleep out the “adult” words when I’m talking, but clips of Sabrina Carpenter singing would be more complex to do so with. 

Track 5: Coincidence

The fifth track of Short N Sweet, Sabrina’s song “Coincidence,” is about what it’s like having a partner who is very obviously reconnecting with their ex and making excuses. The excuses coincidentally (see what I did there?) line up with behavior that clearly betrays their guilt. 

The second I put my head on your chest

She knew, she's got a real sixth sense

Your name comes up once and it comes up twice

And without her even bein' here, she's back in your life

Now she's in the same damn city on the same damn night

And you lost all your common sense

What a coincidence

This verse describes how the cheating boyfriend has his ex on his mind whenever he’s around Sabrina, and then suddenly, they end up in the same place at the same time, as if it’s just a coincidence. But she knows better.

Last week, you didn't have any doubts

This week, you're holding space for her tongue in your mouth

Now she's sendin' you some pictures wearin' less and less

Tryin' to turn the past into the present tense, huh

Suckin' up to all of your mutual friends

The ex worms her way back into the boyfriend’s life and Sabrina is fully aware this is happening.

And you lost all your common sense (you lost all your common sense)

The way you told me the truth, minus seven percent (minus seven percent)

What a coincidence, uh

I initially thought this line was “told me the truth, 97%.” I was only 4% off. 

What a surprise, your phone just died

Your car drove itself from LA to her thighs

Palm Springs looks nice, but who's by your side?

Damn it, she looks kinda like the girl you outgrew

Least that's what you said (that's what you said)

What a coincidence

Oh, wow, you just broke up again

What a coincidence

This bridge describes the ending with the boyfriend and his ex running off together before breaking up again. Tragic, but she saw it coming a mile away. 

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Track 6: Bed Chem

In the sixth track, “Bed Chem,” Sabrina talks about her crush after a meet-cute moment with a cute boy with a white jacket, thick accent, wide blue eyes, and a big bad clears throat, eyes flicker down body part. With all the clues within the song, fans think this song is about Barry Keoghan, who was wearing a white jacket when he met Sabrina at Givenchy’s Spring-Summer 2024 show, which ironically took place in September of 2023.

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)

I love the beginning of this song. It’s entering us into a love story with the right amount of context. That being said, two parts of this section confused me at first. I initially thought the line was, “We were both in a rush, no time for a set/You're flirting me up, want to connect,” which had a similar message so it didn’t confuse me too much, but it’s interesting to think about the line sung versus what my audio processing disordered-mind concluded. 

The second line that got me was “Manifest that you’re oversized”. I’ve never understood this. I know it’s stereotypical for those attracted to bodies with penises to prefer larger-sized ones, but oversized sounds like a bit much. Like, wouldn’t that hurt? 

Who's the cute boy with the white jacket

And the thick accent? Like

Heinz Doofenshmirtz! clip with the actual voice 

giggles This joke gets me every time. I originally thought the line was “fake accent,” which really confused me when the meme started circulating on social media. Doof’s accent is definitely not fake. He grew up in Gimmelshtump, a village within the fictional European country, Drusselstein. For those unfamiliar with this character, Dr. Doofenshmirtz of “Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated” clip with jingle, is an evil scientist in Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb series (which originally ran 2007-2015, but the creators have recently been providing more content with the 2020 made-for-TV movie Candace Against the Universe and the new season premiering sometime this year). Dr. Doofenshmirtz' nemesis is the famed semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of action Perry the Platypus, Phineas and Ferb’s pet and a secret agent of a housepet-employed O.W.C.A. (That was a lot of explanation for a joke relating to two lines of this song, but this podcast is called RAW-tism for a reason. It’s the raw and—mostly unfiltered—ramblings of my wonderfully autistic mind.)

Okay, moving on…

Maybe it's all in my head

But I bet we'd have really good bed chem

How you pick me up, pull 'em 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 bet we'd have really good–

The way Sabrina sings this line scratches my brain in just the right way (add clip of actual song here). Mmmmm, yes. I love feeling it in my ossicles. (That’s my funny way of saying that I like the way it sounds.) An ossicle is a bone in the ear that vibrates to amplify sound on its way to your brain. Look at me using my Bachelors in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology! That being said, this part is confusing to me because she talks as if they’ve already tried out their bedroom chemistry, but the rest of the chorus implies that they haven’t tried yet (but she’s assuming it would be worth trying).

For the next line, I found myself confused. The lyrics websites that I typically use had written the line as “Come ride on me, I mean, camaraderie” but the version from Karaoke-Version.com I sang at karaoke and the official lyric video cite the lyrics as “Come right on me.” I initially thought the line was “come rattle me,” referring to how the bed shakes sometimes during sex. I don’t know what Sabrina intended, though, other than camaraderie.

Said you're not in my time zone but you wanna be

Where art thou? Why not upon-eth me?

Sabrina uses old English with the words “Where art thou” then mixes it up adding her own spin with “why not upon-eth me.” I like this line so much. It fits very well into the song and brilliantly showcases Sabrina’s creative songwriting skills.

See it in my mind, let's fulfill the prophecy

Ooh (ah)

Who's the cute guy with the wide, blue eyes

I confirmed while writing this script that Dr. Doofenshmirtz also fits this description. So now we know Sabrina likes older men who are often mistaken as pharmacists. giggles

And the big bad mm? Like

Ooh (ah)

I know it sound a bit redundant

The song ends with repeating the chorus. As I stated in the last episode, I’ve cut out the repeated parts of all the songs unless I have something specific to add about them.

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Track 7: Espresso

“Espresso” was Sabrina’s first single released from the Short N Sweet album (seventh on the tracklist), and her performance at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival skyrocketed her already-modest level of fame. She was already popular from her acting roles on the Disney Channel and her previous albums, including Emails I Can’t Send, but this song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Sabrina her first Top 10 hit.

Now he's thinkin' 'bout me every night, oh

Is it that sweet? I guess so

Say you can't sleep, baby, I know

That's that me espresso

Move it up, down, left, right, oh

Switch it up like Nintendo

Say you can't sleep, baby, I know

That's that me espresso

Starting with the refrain is a boss move, in my opinion. It is so catchy, energizing, and addicting. It’s hard not to put it on repeat and jam your heart out.

I can't relate to desperation

My give-a-fucks are on vacation

And I got this one boy and he won't stop callin'

When they act this way, I know I got 'em

Sabrina’s lyrics make it clear she’s confident about her seductive abilities, using her femininity as a superpower as she fills our minds with cheeky innuendo. 

Too bad your ex don't do it for ya

Walked in and dream-came-trued it for ya

Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya

(Yes) I know I Mountain Dew it for ya

(Yes) that morning coffee, brewed it for ya

(Yes) one touch and I brand-newed it for ya (oh)

Sabrina has made it clear that the entire point of the song is to empower her listeners. Femininity and confidence are something every female-identifying person (or anyone) deserves to feel.

I'm working late, 'cause I'm a singer

This line is one of the most repeated from the entire song. The way she sings it falls so sweetly from her tongue, and her audience becomes immediately obsessed.

Oh, he looks so cute wrapped 'round my finger

My twisted humor make him laugh so often

My honey bee, come and get this pollen

Sabrina finishes the song with more innuendos and an adorable display of how much the boyfriend in question is in love with her. Everyone deserves to feel this wanted, loved, and sexy, and if you’re someone who experiences romantic or platonic affection/attraction, I hope that you have this type of confidence and people who help boost those feelings in your life.

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Track 8: Dumb & Poetic

Track 8, “Dumb & Poetic,” is the shortest song in the Short N Sweet album. The song describes someone who on the outside seems to be very kind, but it turns out to be “performative empathy.”

You're so dumb and poetic

As CinemaSins would say, “Roll credits!” 

This is the only time in the whole song where she says this phrase or even mentions the words “dumb” or “poetic.” As I stated in the first part of this series, this is a strange pet peeve of mine. For some reason, my brain just can’t comprehend song titles that are only mentioned once in the song’s lyrics. (At least Sabrina’s other song on the album with a similar issues—Sharpest Tool—made sense to me, because even though she never repeats those words specifically, the narrative describes the song's subject as a “tool” with the meaning of someone who tries too hard to act cool.) 

It's just what I fall for, I like the aesthetic

Every self-help book, you've already read it

Cherry-pick lines like they're words you invented

Another example of “performative empathy” is quoting self-help books to seem more in touch with themselves emotionally. Now that I’m thinking about it, this song also describes someone acting like a tool. Hmmmmm…

Gold star for highbrow manipulation

And "love everyone" is your favorite quotation

Try to come off like you're soft and well-spoken

Jack off to lyrics by Leonard Cohen

Here is another part of a Sabrina Carpenter song that is sung in such a satisfying way. (Clip of actual song) Hissing Yesssssssss, vibrate my ossiclessssssss. 

Don't think you understand

Just 'cause you talk like one doesn't make you a man

Something I love about this particular song is that Sabrina Carpenter changes the refrain in small ways while keeping the same general meaning each time. Some songs that change the refrain get so dang confusing to me. 

You're so sad, there's no communication

But baby, you put us in this situation

You're running so fast from the hearts that you're breakin'

Save all your breath for your floor meditation

You're so empathetic, you'd make a great wife

And I promise the mushrooms aren't changing your life

I originally thought these two lines were supposed to be intended as Sabrina mimicking what the subject of the song often tells her, but my research when writing this episode showed that the media portrays these lines as Sabrina taunting the subject of the song, which is widely assumed to be Shawn Mendes. This is evidenced by Shawn’s admittance to trying mushrooms around the time he and Sabrina were rumored to be together, and many sources described him acting as a less stereotypical “manly” man. Basically, Sabrina is calling Mendes—or whoever the song is about—“feminine.” It is said as an insult, but I’d like to believe that she doesn’t literally see men’s femininity as a negative trait. This sounds more like in-the-moment thoughts unleashing feelings of anger and heartbreak, emotions that can turn any trait into the worst possible. https://betches.com/sabrina-carpenters-short-n-sweet-songs-about-shawn-mendes/ 

Well, you crashed the car and abandoned the wreckage

Fuck with my head like it's some kind of fetish

To me, these lines describe how she feels used and left behind by the song’s subject. It’s a horrible feeling that I hope most of you have never experienced, but it’s one that I, unfortunately, can relate to all too well. 

Don't think you understand

Just 'cause you act like one doesn't make you a man

Don't think you understand

Just 'cause you leave like one doesn't make you a man

Sabrina’s changing the words here again, this time adding the bomb of a last line. The line “just ’cause you leave like one” is heartbreaking, heart wrenching, and any other thing that can emotionally happen to one’s heart. (Clip of full last line when she does the sad voice thing).

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That’s all for this episode! The next part will be on streaming services next week. If you want the entire episode with all four parts right now, it is available on my Patreon! To sweeten the deal, while regular streaming services will have mostly me saying the lyrics, the Patreon version will have clips from the songs for every line. 

Outro~