The track was co-written by Swedish songwriter Max Martin, who remains a one-man wrecking crew hitmaker. “Ultimately the song really doesn't really make much sense,” he admits. (The real one, not the one who went on the imaginary date with me.) Sound implausible? Maybe, but could there be a deeper meaning to the song, one I just can't wrap my thick skull around? “I never, ever, EVER, want to hear you say you want it that way.” You set your napkin on the table, get up, and then, crying, run out the restaurant's front door. “Baby,” you say, loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear. The waiter and I both turn to you, but your face is frozen in horrified anguish. “How would you like it done?” the waiter asks. The waiter arrives and, since you are a gentleman, you let me order first. We receive our menus and consult them, occasionally glancing up and directly into each others' eyes.
We arrive to the restaurant, an elegant, dimly lit downtown spot full of tanned people. You whisk me away in your chauffeur-driven 1998 custom-made stretch Jeep Cherokee. You pick me up at eight, wearing a long trench coat. Let's pretend I'm me and you're, say, Kevin Richardson. You never want to hear me say I want things in particular ways.īut why? Maybe an example would help flesh this out. And it seems fair for me to assume you simply don't like it when I express preferences.
So, without specifics, I can only guess what you mean. Even worse, no further explanation is given for what “that” is. None of the sentiments here seem to go with any of the other ones. Then the chorus kicks in and this thing goes off the rails. So, wait, the “that” that I say is different than the “that” that you say? You're saying that I want it a different way? A way that is not preferable to you? So, you're saying you want me to continue being your fire and one desire. Mainly, the meaning of “that” is at issue. What once seemed like a breakup song is now just a mushy, lovey-dovey ballad.“I Want It That Way”'s lyrics are an enigma wrapped in a riddle tied up in a pencil-thin beard. They change the meaning of the song entirely. Here are the lyrics for that version, side by side with the original ones for an easy comparison. You can listen to the alternate version of "I Want It That Way" here. In 2016, the band spoke with HuffPost and band mate Nick Carter said the then-president of JIVE records (among others involved) wanted to change the lyrics to have the song make more sense. "On the other hand, I like the original version. That's why they recorded the other version of the song with different words," Smith answered a fan on an archived site he ran on the band until 2001. According to the band's former keyboardist Tommy Smith, it's an alternate version that was recorded when many noticed the chorus for the Martin-written song didn't make sense. The band recorded a more romantic version of "I Want It That Way." It isn't the original version of the song. "We don't want you to want 'it' that way - that's the way we want it… for you to not want it that way."Ī screenshot from the music video for "I Want It That Way." It's an old video, so forgive the blurriness. "Don't wanna hear you say that you want heartaches and mistakes… or to be 2 worlds apart," the official BSB account tweeted. The Backstreet Boys gave Teigen an answer that made everything more confusing for many. "He wants to be the one to say it? Also what is 'it'"? "He doesn't wanna hear it because he is the one that wants it that way?" Chrissy Teigen tweeted in 2018, puzzled about the lyric's meanings. Then we get to the chorus, and we're completely lost. Cool.Ī little more muddy, but perhaps the girlfriend is suggesting in this situation the guy actually wants them to be "two worlds apart." Or maybe the girl is saying she wants to break things off. At this point, they're singing about wanting to be in a relationship with someone who sets their heart aflame.