STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS

I bite my lip and let you know


JE M'APPELLE RACHEL

'Je M'appelle' is about sex. When asked what she means when she sings, 'Je m'appelle Rachel, Fire away!', she replied: "You don't want to know. It's something dirty. The track is about a French prostitute, so you can probably work out what 'fire away' is referring to."

SOME GIRLS

Some Girls" was Rachel's chance to save her career, after the chart failures of her debut album Funky Dory and her second single of the same name. Rachel and her manager, Simon Fuller, heard a demo version of the song and contacted Richard X and Hannah Robinson, wanting to record it as her comeback single. An unidentified singer/group from Warp records had also heard the song and wanted to record it, but when her management suggested that it could be released as a charity single for Sport Relief, Rachel was given the song.

In the song she sings about going along with the wishes of a man who promises her the earth but never delivers, while "dreams of number one" keep her faithful. Multiple interviews have suggested to Rachel that the song is about blow jobs, which she and the songs co-writers have not confirmed. It is more likely that the song is referring to some women who have sex with high executives in order to get a job or position.

SPIN THAT BOTTLE

It's about her first kiss.

SWEET DREAMS MY LA-EX

The lyrics of the song, written by Cathy Dennis, were inspired by Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River", which is believed to be aimed at Britney Spears, his ex-girlfriend. The lyrics are a message to the famous ex-partner who has talked about the relationship and break-up in public, with the person in the song now taking the time to deliver their side of the story.

"Find somebody else to talk about
If I were in your shoes
I'd worry of the effects
You've had your say but now its my turn"

The person in the song wishes their ex "sweet dreams", but accuses them of using the break-up to further themselves. Originally the song was written by Dennis for Britney Spears, who turned it down due to its subject matter. A few months later Dennis still had not found someone to perform the song and offered it to Rachel, whom she had worked with when she was a member of S Club 7. At the time Rachel had just begun work on her debut solo album and thought the song, which did not sound like anything out at the time, would make a good first single. Rachel said of the song in an interview, "The writers really got my personality and the direction I want to go in," she said. "The first single is a great example – the first time I heard it I knew it’s what I wanted.