"Bedtime Story" is a song by American singer Madonna from her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994). In Australia and most European countries, it was released as the third single from the album on February 13, 1995, whereas in the United States, the release date was two months later, on April 13. The song was written by Icelandic singer Björk, and British producers Nellee Hooper and Marius De Vries. Madonna was a fan of Björk's Debut album and, through Hooper, got in contact with her and asked her to collaborate on a song. Not being a big fan of Madonna's work, Björk was initially reluctant at the idea, but eventually accepted. She based the lyrics on ideas and concepts she had always wanted to hear Madonna say, and recorded a demo alongside Hooper. Originally titled "Let's Get Unconscious", the demo was re-worked and produced by Madonna and Hooper, who also changed its name to "Bedtime Story".
Unlike the rest of the parent album, which leans towards adult contemporary music, "Bedtime Story" is an electronic song with ambient, dance, acid house and new-age tones. Its lyrics talk about the joys of unconsciousness. Official remixes were commissioned by British duo Orbital, and American DJ Junior Vasquez. Critics reacted positively towards "Bedtime Story", praising its sound and deeming it a highlight from the album. In retrospective reviews, it has been referred to as one of Madonna's most underrated singles, and the one that foreshadowed her move towards electronic music in her subsequent work.
Peaking at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Bedtime Story" became Madonna's lowest-charting single in the US; nonetheless, it became Madonna's seventeenth number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The single fared better in the United Kingdom, where it reached the top-ten. Directed by Mark Romanek, the music video for "Bedtime Story" had a budget of US$5 million (US$ million in ), making it one of the most expensive of all time. It features surrealistic and new age imagery, with influences from artists such as Remedios Varo, Frida Kahlo and Leonora Carrington. The visual was lauded by critics and is permanently displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Madonna performed "Bedtime Story" live at the 1995 Brit Awards, and almost thirty years later on the Celebration Tour (2023―2024). A remix was used as video interlude on 2004's Re-Invention World Tour.
Background and recording
For her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories (1994), Madonna decided to venture in the R&B and hip hop mania that was dominating the charts in the early-to-mid 1990s. The project saw her collaborating with some of the genre's "heavyweights", including Babyface, Dallas Austin, and Dave Hall. According to author Lucy O'Brien, although Madonna was "anxious" to make an impact in the R&B market, "her voice just wasn't powerful enough to hold and bend those deep, soulful notes". Needing another "flavor" to expand on the album, the singer turned to the British club scene, where genres such as dub had been growing in popularity thanks to acts like Icelandic singer Björk, and British bands Massive Attack and Soul II Soul. Madonna got in touch with British producer Nellee Hooper, who'd worked with the three forementioned acts. It was through Hooper that Madonna got in contact with Björk; "[W]hen I first met Nellee, I told him that I loved the Björk record (Debut) and that I was a big fan of hers. He said it was mutual and the two of us should meet and maybe we could write a song together. I loved the idea".
Björk, by her part, did not consider herself a big fan of Madonna's music. When approached by Madonna's team, she initially hesitated; "[My] instinct was to [say] no. I respect [her], but it just didn't feel right". She eventually accepted, feeling "intrigued" by the offer. The lyrics were born out of "[Björk's] own criticism of Madonna's aesthetic", as noted by author Mark Pytlik. "I thought of a collection of words that I have always wanted to hear [Madonna] say", the singer recalled. She was touring Europe at the time, but came up with an idea built around the phrase "Let's get unconscious". In one day, Björk wrote the lyrics while Hooper put together the music. During a 2001 interview with Nylon magazine, Björk herself explained: I think at the time, yes, ['Let's Get Unconscious'] was what I wanted to hear from [Madonna's] mouth. But that's like six years ago, when everything about her seemed very controlled. I think she's a very intuitive person, and definitely her survival instinct are incredible. They're like, outrageous. At the time, the words I thought she'd say were, 'I'm not using words anymore, let's get unconscious honey. Fuck logic. Just to be intuitive. Be more free. Go with the flow'. Right now, she seems pretty much to be going with the flow". A demo was put together in London by Björk, Hooper and his assistant Marius De Vries, and then sent to Madonna, who "immediately fell in love with the words". Afterwards, Hooper and De Vries flew to Los Angeles to meet with Madonna and begin recording sessions for Bedtime Stories. They reworked the demo, turning it into a "whole new track that was more like a club record. We also re-structured the words", recalled the singer. The song's name was also changed, from "Let's Get Unconscious" to "Bedtime Story". It was recorded at Los Angeles Chappel Studios. Personnel working on the song included Frederick Jorio and P. Dennis Mitchell on mixing, while Joey Moskowitz was in charge of programming. Björk later confessed that Madonna had got few of the lyrics wrong — the original said learning logic and reason, which Madonna mistook and sang as leaving logic and reason.
Composition
In The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, Rikky Rooksby described "Bedtime Story" as Madonna's "most artificial ambient dance track". It has been noted an electronic song with influences of acid house, New-age and Sufi music. Unlike other tracks in Bedtime Stories, which are "warm, adult-contemporary-laced [and] urban", "Bedtime Story" is "slower [with] less melody but a more complex rhythmic structure", as noted by AllMusic's Jose F. Promis, and author Victor Amaro Vicente. Rooksby held that the lyrics talk about the "joys of unconsciousness and rejection of the supposed constraints of reason and language", while to the staff of Rolling Stone, they deal with an "exploration of feelings so powerful they transcend language". According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., "Bedtime Story" is set in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 108 beats per minute. However, its actual tempo is 112 beats per minute. Written in the key of G minor, Madonna's vocal range spans from the notes of A3 to G5. and follows a basic sequence of Gm9–Dm–E–A–G as its chord progression. Instrumentation is synthesized, consisting of drum machine loops, organs, strings, gurgles, handclaps, as well as a digitally-altered "homophonic" choir.
According to producer Marius De Vries, "Bedtime Story"s "architecture" is "distinctly Björkian". The beginning is linked to the ending of previous album track "Sanctuary". It stars with two throaty groans that introduce the first verse; in it, Madonna sings in a "low, husky" register, Today is the last day that I'm using words/They've gone out, lost their meaning. Author Stan Hawkins pointed out that during this particular part, a "muddy" bassline "propels" the groove forward as reverbed organ chords punctuate the "cyclical" groove with "anticipated, off-beat" stabs. Throughout the song, the word traveling is constantly repeated, which seems to indicate a "deep rhetoric of desire". This perceived desire is unleashed in "full force" through the phrase And inside, We're all still wet/Longing and yearning/How can I explain how I feel?. The song ends "abruptly", with Madonna singing in a "naked and vulnerable voice", And all that you've ever learned/try to forget/I'll never explain again.
Subtexts have been perceived in the song's lyrics and meaning. Amaro Vicente noted references to Islamic mysticism, sexuality, postmodernism and New age, especially in the song's theme of meditation and relaxation. Phrases such as honey, longing and yearning, and the sexual connotations of being wet on the inside, do not relate to "secular" love, but to "ecstatic" Sufi poetry. The author concluded that the lyrics to "Bedtime Story" allude to concepts of movement which are "central" to Sufi philosophy: Achieving fana through sema.
Release and remixes In Australia and most European countries, "Bedtime Story" was released as the parent album's third official single on February 13, 1995. Two months later, on April 11, it was issued on the United States. Official remixes were created by British duo Orbital, and American DJ Junior Vasquez. Jose F. Promis noted that the remixes "spin [the song] into a whole different direction"; the first remix is an edited take on the original album version; the "Junior's Single Edit" is taken from the "Junior's Wet Dream Mix", which Premis said sounds "much more accessible and radio-friendly than the [album] original".
Orbital's remixes were noted as being "dreamier" than the ones created by Vasquez, while the "Junior's Sound Factory Mix", "at times almost resembl[es] a march". In 2001, "Bedtime Story" was included on Madonna's second compilation album, GHV2. Twenty years later, "rare" remixes of the track, such as the "Lush vocal", dub, "Percapella" and "Unconscious in the Jungle" mixes, were made available for digital download and streaming. The "Junior's Single Mix" was then added to Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022), Madonna's third remix album. The original "Let's Get Unconscious" demo was re-worked as "Sweet Intuition", and included as a B-side on Björk's "Army of Me" single, and remixed on the "It's Oh So Quiet" single.
Critical reception
Upon release, "Bedtime Story" was met with generally positive critical feedback. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine deemed it one of the best songs from the album, that "slowly work their melodies into the subconscious". Jose F. Promis said it was one of Madonna's "most adventurous singles [...] although not very commercial, it stays true to its source, which is pure, unadulterated dance music". From Billboard, Larry Flick said it was one of Bedtime Stories "strongest and more club-friendly cuts". Writing for Idolator, Bianca Gracie referred to "Bedtime Story" as a "truly hypnotizing" highlight, and applauded its "trippy vibe that separates itself from the rest [of the album]". On his weekly UK chart commentary, critic James Masterton said that it was the "most credible" single Madonna had released up to that point since "Vogue" (1990). In The Music of Madonna, author Chris Wade wrote that, although penned by Björk, Madonna made the song her own by "adding a druggy, sleepiness [to it] that makes it one of her most unusual, quirky and challenging tracks".