Bad Things
Chorus: Camila Cabello & mgk
Am I out of my head? Am I out of my mind?If you only knew the bad things I likeDon't think that I can explain itWhat can I say? It's complicated (Bah)Don't matter what you say, don't matter what you doI only wanna do bad things to youSo good (So good) that you can't explain itWhat can I say? It's complicated (Ayy)Verse 1: mgk & Camila Cabello
Nothing's that bad if it feels goodSo you come back like I knew you wouldAnd we're both wild and the night's youngAnd you're my drug, breathe you in 'til my face numbDrop it down to that bass drum, I got what you dream aboutNails scratchin' my back tat, eyes closed while you scream outAnd you keep me in with those hips while my teeth sink in those lips (Yeah)While your body's giving me life and you suffocate in my kissThen you saidPre-Chorus: mgk
I want you forever, even when we're not together (Ayy, ayy)Scars on my body so I can take you wherever, like (Ayy, ayy)I want you forever, even when we're not togetherScars on my body I can look at you whenever, uh (Yeah)Chorus: Camila Cabello & mgk
Am I out of my head? Am I out of my mind?If you only knew the bad things I likeDon't think that I can explain itWhat can I say? It's complicatedDon't matter what you say, don't matter what you doI only wanna do bad things to youSo good that you can't explain itWhat can I say? It's complicated (Damn)Verse 2: mgk, Camila Cabello, Both
I can't explain it, I love the pain (Ayy, ayy)And I love the way that your breath numbs me like novocaineAnd we are always high (Ooh), keep it strangeOkay, yeah, I'm insane, but you the sameLet me paint the picture, uh (Yeah), couch by the kitchen, ayy (Yeah)Nothin' but your heels on, losin' our religion (Mm)You're my pretty little vixen and I'm that voice inside your headThat keeps telling you to listen to all the bad things I sayAnd you saidPre-Chorus: mgk & Camila Cabello
I want you forever, even when we're not together (Ayy, ayy, yeah)Scars on my body so I can take you wherever, like (Ayy, ayy)I want you forever, even when we're not together (Oh)Scars on my body I can look at you whenever, uh (Yeah)Chorus: Camila Cabello
Am I out of my head? Am I out of my mind?If you only knew the bad things I likeDon't think that I can explain itWhat can I say? It's complicatedDon't matter what you say, don't matter what you doI only wanna do bad things to youSo good that you can't explain itWhat can I say? It's complicatedBridge: Camila Cabello & mgk
The way we love is so unique (Ayy, ayy)And when we touch, I'm shiveringAnd no one has to get it, just you and me (Right)'Cause we're just living between the sheets (You said)Pre-Chorus: Both, mgk, Camila Cabello
I want you forever, even when we're not together (Ayy, ayy, yeah)Scars on my body so I can take you wherever, likeI want you forever, even when we're not together (Ayy, real talk, oh)Scars on my body I can look at you whenever, yeah (Oh, baby)Chorus: Camila Cabello & mgk
Am I out of my head? Am I out of my mind? (Am I? Am I?)If you only knew the bad things I like (If you only knew)Don't think that I can explain it (Yeah)What can I say? It's complicated (Yeah)Don't matter what you say, don't matter what you do (Do, do)I only wanna do bad things to you (Yeah)So good that you can't explain it (So good; oh, baby)What can I say? It's complicatedWhat the song means
"Bad Things" is a duet about a passionate, obsessive relationship that feels thrilling and dangerous. The chorus asks whether the narrator is losing their mind, and admits that the "bad things" they desire are hard to describe or justify. The mood is intense and self-aware. The singers know the attraction is unhealthy, but they accept it and don't try to fully explain it.
The verses build this intensity through physical and sensory images. The other person is described as a drug and as a kind of addiction, and pain is presented as part of the pleasure. Lines about scratching, biting, and numbness suggest a love that borders on violence, while the reference to "losin' our religion" implies that the couple has given up ordinary moral limits in favor of desire. The pre-chorus turns this toward permanence: the singer wants the other person "forever," even when they are apart, and the scars become lasting marks that keep the memory alive.
The bridge shifts to privacy, with the idea that no one else needs to understand what they share. The final chorus returns with the same questions, but now they feel less like confusion and more like a shrug of acceptance. The song ends unresolved, with the couple still caught between pleasure, pain, and the sense that their love is too complicated to justify.
Key phrases explained
- out of my head
- crazy, out of one's mind — An idiom used in the chorus to question whether the narrator's feelings are irrational.
- losin' our religion
- giving up our moral principles — A reference to the R.E.M. song "Losing My Religion," here meaning abandoning restraint for desire.
- novocaine
- an anesthetic that numbs pain — Used as a comparison for how the other person's breath dulls the singer's senses.
- vixen
- a seductive, fox-like woman — A playful, flirtatious nickname that emphasizes the other person's alluring, dangerous charm.
- between the sheets
- in bed, intimately together — A euphemism for sexual intimacy that suggests their relationship is kept private.
Song info
- Release date
- 2016-10-14
- Album
- bloom
- Written by
- mgk, BazeXX, Camila Cabello, Madison Love, Alex Schwartz, Joe Khajadourian
- Produced by
- The Futuristics
- Interpolates
- Fastball – Out of My Head
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