‘Bam Bam’ is lyrically meaningful and sonically uplifting
“Bam Bam” by Camila Cabello and Ed Sheeran was released on Friday, Mar. 4.
March 9, 2022
Camila Cabello and Ed Sheeran debuted a collaboration titled “Bam Bam” on Mar. 4 along with a live performance by Cabello on the Late Late Show with James Cordon. This is the second time the two artists have collaborated, following “South of the Border” with Cardi B for Ed Sheeran’s collaboration project in 2019.
The song as a whole isn’t what we expected. For a song titled “Bam Bam,” we expected an upbeat, Latin pop song. And while the chorus was exactly that, the lyrics, acoustic feel of the first verse, and deep life lessons behind the song were a pleasant surprise.
In the first verse, Cabello sings about moving on from a relationship she never thought would end, accompanied by acoustic guitars and a tranquil feel. She details how she and the person she is singing to have both significantly changed, and maturely describes that moving on is a part of life, not bitterly blaming the other person. The reflective lyrics remain throughout the song, despite the tempo picking up as we approach the chorus and she sings, “Así es la vida, sí, that’s just life, baby.”
The chorus is accompanied by a salsa-type beat in a Latin country dance style. Parallels can be drawn with both the feel and inspiration of this song to “Don’t Go Yet,” Cabello’s first official single for her upcoming album “Familia.” It is also similar to another song, “La Buena Vida,” which she debuted live during her Tiny Desk concert. “Familia” is either a very sonically cohesive album, or the singles were chosen incredibly well, both of which are very likely.
Further along in the song, Cabello and Sheeran repeatedly sing “sigue bailando” and “keep dancing” (the English translation) for the entirety of the bridge. This song details the story of moving on from a breakup you never thought would happen, but picking yourself up and continuing to “dance,” essentially saying that life is constantly changing and you have to pick yourself up and keep going.
The life lesson of how the world is constantly changing, people are constantly changing, relationships can come to an end, and that’s just how life works adds an extra layer of depth to the song. Typically, songs with an upbeat tempo and bass have shallow lyrics that don’t make sense in their own context, so it was refreshing to see a song that you can both dance and ponder the meaning of life to.
“Bam Bam” is Ed Sheeran’s second recent collaboration, the remix of “The Joker and the Queen” with Taylor Swift from his album “=” being the first. For Camila Cabello, this song marks the start of her new era. And if the artist’s highly anticipated third album is anything like its first two singles, we both are definitely looking forward to “Familia,” set to be released on Apr. 8.
