Bedtime Story

Madonna's 'Bedtime Story' is a song that delves into the theme of escapism and the desire to transcend the limitations of language and conscious thought. The lyrics suggest a yearning to abandon the structured and often restrictive nature of words and rationality in favor of a more instinctual and subconscious experience. Madonna invites the listener to 'get unconscious,' which could be interpreted as a call to let go of the conscious mind's control and enter a dreamlike state where emotions and sensations take precedence over logic and reason.

The repetitive nature of the phrase 'Let's get unconscious, honey' serves as a hypnotic mantra, reinforcing the song's theme of moving away from the conscious world. The mention of words losing their meaning and sentences being useless emphasizes the inadequacy of language to fully capture or communicate the depth of human emotion. This sentiment is echoed in the lines 'How could they explain how I feel?' and 'How can I explain how I feel?' which express the frustration and limitations of verbal expression.

The song's atmosphere is ethereal and introspective, with Madonna's delivery and the production elements creating a sense of drifting into an altered state of consciousness. The lyrics 'And inside we're all still wet / Longing and yearning' evoke a primal, almost infantile desire for comfort and understanding that transcends the spoken word. The instruction to 'Try to forget' all that has been learned suggests a liberation from the constraints of societal norms and the embrace of a more intuitive and unencumbered way of being.