"Play Date", sometimes stylized as "Playdate", is the fourteenth track by Melanie Martinez featured on the deluxe version of her debut album, Cry Baby. It is the first deluxe track on the album, the second being Teddy Bear and the third being Cake. On June 26th, 2020, the song was included as the B-side to Fire Drill on Spotify.
On May 26th, 2020, Melanie released a lyric video for the song due to its rise in popularity. She is currently filming a home-made music video.
On June 17th, 2020, a remix of the song with American music duo 100 gecs was released due to its rise in popularity; however, it was later pulled from streaming services due to the duo not wanting to be associated with Melanie because of the allegations made against her by Timothy Heller.
Theme
This tells the story of Cry Baby feeling like she’s nothing more than a friend to someone who seems to care very little about her, even though they get together often. Frustrated, she outwardly proclaims she is just as uncommitted as he is, and how she's tired of all the games she has to play to stay with him. She wishes she didn’t care about how little he communicates or how much she has to chase after him, but she can't stop thinking about him. The entirety of the song is one contradiction after the next.
While swearing she couldn't care less about him, in the final moments of the song she admits she does care about him and does value their "play date".
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
You call me on the telephone, you feel so far away
You tell me to come over, there's some games you wanna play
I'm walking to your house, nobody's home
Just me and you and you and me alone
[Pre-Chorus]
We're just playing hide and seek
It's getting hard to breathe under the sheets with you
I don't wanna play no games
I'm tired of always chasing, chasing after you
[Chorus]
I don't give a fuck about you anyways
Whoever said I give a shit 'bout you?
You never share your toys or communicate
I guess I'm just a play date to you
[Verse 2]
Wake up in your bedroom and there's nothin' left to say
When I try to talk, you're always playing board games
I wish I had monopoly over your mind
I wish I didn't care all the time
[Pre-Chorus]
We're just playing hide and seek
It's getting hard to breathe under the sheets with you
I don't wanna play no games
I'm tired of always chasing, chasing after you
[Chorus]
I don't give a fuck about you anyways
Whoever said I give a shit 'bout you?
You never share your toys or communicate
I guess I'm just a play date to you
[Bridge]
Ring around the rosy
I never know, I never know what you need
Ring around the rosy
I wanna give you, wanna give you what you need
[Chorus]
I don't give a fuck about you anyways
Whoever said I give a shit 'bout you?
You never share your toys or communicate
I guess I'm just a play date to you
[Outro]
You know I give a fuck about you every day
Guess it's time that I tell you the truth
If I share my toys, will you let me stay?
Don't wanna leave this play date with you
Videos
Trivia
- There is a clean version of this song, however, it is only available on iTunes and the Middle Eastern music streaming service, Anghami.
- In the clean version, the word "fuck" in the chorus is barely censored.
- This song, along with the songs Teddy Bear and Cake, despite being on the deluxe version of Cry Baby, is not part of Cry Baby's story, though she still is the main character of them.
- This song was certified Gold by the RIAA on May 1st, 2020.
- This is the shortest song on the deluxe version of the album.
- In the transition from the end of the verses to the chorus, the sound of dice rolling can be heard.
- Play Date replaced Half Hearted on the album at the last moment.[1]
- The audio has reached over 76 million views and 1.3 million likes, making it the most popular audio from the Cry Baby era.
- The lyric video reached 1.3 million views in the first 24 hours of being uploaded. It now has over 14 million views and 886 thousand likes.
- On April 23th, 2020, a hashtag called "#STREAMPLAYDATE" was spread on Twitter and Instagram. It was created to mark the beginning of Play Date climbing the alternative song chart on iTunes after a slowed-down version of the song became a trend on TikTok.
- Melanie addressed this achievement on April 29th, 2020 as "the best birthday present ever" in an Instagram post about her birthday.[2]
- In an interview with Idolator, Melanie said that she is in the process of writing a music video for the song due to its recent success. It will be shot at home.[3]
- After the song's sudden rise in popularity, Melanie also released a line of merchandise for the song.[4]
- The official instrumental of the song was leaked on May 20th, 2020.
