Bedtime Story
Encyclopedia
"Bedtime Story" is a song by American
singer Madonna
from her 1994 album Bedtime Stories
, written by Björk
, Nellee Hooper
and Marius De Vries
and produced by Madonna herself as well as Nellee Hooper. The song was released as a single in April 1995. "Bedtime Story" was the third single off the album. It also appeared on her 2001 compilation album GHV2
in a shorter edit form.
"Bedtime Story" is a mid-tempo electronic
song with acid
-influenced "pulsating" house
beats, ambient
and techno
tendencies and an underlying skeletal synth melody influenced by minimal trance music. The song also contains the presence of a drum machine
, organ
s, gurgle
s, handclaps and has an intricate rhythmic structure. It has also drawn comparisons to the style of new age music
. A considerable departure from Madonna's work at the time, being a rather unconventional, alternative and less melody-driven track, the song contrasted with Madonna's pop
-based repertoire, as well as the contemporary R&B
and new jack swing
-based music of her early 1990s releases, with critics noting its evident electronic influences, which would later be present in subsequent albums, most notably Ray of Light
and Music
. The song starts with groans and eventually progresses into whispered speak-sung vocals, and the lyrics are about the joys of the unconscious world; scholars and academics have noted that the song contains lyrical subtexts. Critically, "Bedtime Story" received favourable reviews; music critics praised the song's hypnotic and electronic style, and deemed it an underrated song which could have had great potential, claiming that it could have been the new "Vogue". Commercially, the song was a moderate international success, reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom
, Italy
and Australia
, yet missing the top forty in United States
, peaking at forty-two. Nonetheless, the song was a major club hit, peaking at number one in the Hot Dance Club Songs.
The music video
for the "Bedtime Story" was directed by Mark Romanek
, and features a surrealistic
and new age
imagery, with influences from artists such as Remedios Varo
, Frida Kahlo
and Leonora Carrington
. At a cost of $5 million, it is also one of the most expensive music videos of all time. In the video, Madonna is seen as being the subject of a scientific test, in which she falls asleep and travels into a dream world. The video received acclaim from critics, being deemed as one of Madonna’s most artistic music videos, and it was stored in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York City
.
"Bedtime Story" has left a legacy, with several critics, writers and scholars claiming that the song foreshadowed the singer's move towards electronic music in her future work; it was also written that it was part of the singer's influence in popularising sufism
and the Mevlevi
tradition in mainstream Western culture
. Nevertheless, it has been described as one of her most potentially successful singles. "Bedtime Story" is also one of Madonna's less represented and performed songs; despite this, the song was performed at the 1995 BRIT Awards
in London
, and a remixed version of the track was used as an interlude on her Re-Invention Tour in 2004, with a whole new video, directed by Dago Gonzalez, being used.
ic singer Björk
, Marius DeVries and Nellee Hooper, and co-produced by Nellee Hooper
and Madonna. Issued as the third single from the Bedtime Stories album, the song received full remix
treatment. Alongside the single edit of the song, a number of dance remixes were commissioned, including two by Junior Vasquez
.
song, which, according to sheet music published by Musicnotes.com of Alfred Publishing
, is written in the key of G minor
and has a "moderate" tempo of 108 beats per minute. The song is a notable departure from Madonna's previous works and the other songs from the album, which are more R&B
and new jack swing
-driven; unlike Madonna's more up-tempo, melodic work, the song is slower and has less of a net melody, and also contains a complex rhythmic structure; it also places much emphasis on atmospheric qualities, containing an ambient
-influenced tonality. The track, furthermore, contains a "pulsating" and "deep, bubbling" house
beat which has drawn stylistic comparisons to acid house
music, a "skeletal" synth arrangement, influences of trance
, more specifically, minimal trance, as well as techno
tendencies. The song's instrumentation, on the other hand, is synthesized
, consisting of drum machine
, loops, organ
s, strings
, gurgle
s, handclaps, as well as a digital
ly-altered "homophonic" choir
. The lyrics are a hymn to the joys of unconsciousness and a rejection of the supposed constraints of reason and language, hence the line "Words are useless, especially sentences, They don't stand for anything, How could they explain how I feel?" The song is linked to the ending of the previous album track, "Sanctuary", and starts with its chord
s. After this, the skeletal synth arrangement begins, over which the singer can be heard groaning. This is followed by sound of the drum machine and machine handclap. Madonna sings the song in a subdued, speak-sing manner, with the line "Today is the last day I am using words". In the song, Madonna sings certain lines in a hypnotic style. The ending of the track has a pulsating beat and a mix of the lead synth, with Madonna's voice whimpering and uttering "Ha-ha-aahs". It ends abruptly saying "And all that you every learnt, try to forget, I'll never explain again" making the listener believe that it was all the part of a dream.
According to Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi, the song’s music bears many resemblances to new age
-era music and different forms of Sufi-inspired music; its slow atmospheric qualities have drawn comparison to "Mevlevi
-Sufi Relaxation"; the song's intricate rhythmic structure has also drawn comparison to the zikr ceremony; the song's "steady and continuous rhythmic loop is suggestive of zikr". Björk
, one of the song's writers, has been credited for giving the song its particular style. According to Marius De Vries
as recorded by Lucy O'Brien
in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, one of the song's writers, claimed that the track's architecture is "distinctly Björkian" and that the Icelandic singer "has such a particular and idiosyncratic approach to the construction of lyrics and phrasing". In a chapter of Music and technoculture written by Charity Marsh and Melissa West, it is stated that one can hear the influence of Björk in Madonna’s vocals during the song.
Lyrically, despite being a song about a trip to the unconscious, scholars have noticed subtexts within the song's meaning. Postmodern
and new age
themes seem to have been explored within the song's lyrics, especially with regards to their incapability of articulating the concept of the truth, as well as the song's theme of meditation
and relax. Islamic mystic and sexual
themes have also been noted within the song's lyrics. According to Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi, the "clichéd references to "honey", "longing" and "yearning", and even the sexual connotations of being "wet" on the inside" relate not to "secular" love
, yet to "ecstatic" Sufi poetry
. The song's lyrical themes contrast from those of her previous work, which was overtly sexual and based on erotic love; on the other hand, they explore concepts of movement which are "central" to Sufi philosophy, such as "leaving" and "going out". According to Victor Amaro Vincente, these "subtly" allude to "achieving fana through sema (getting "lost" and "leaving logic
and reason
to the arms of unconsciousness").
"Bedtime Story" has received generally positive reviews from critics. Lucy O'Brien
, in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, wrote that "'Bedtime Story' was a vivid track that foreshadowed Madonna's move towards electronica
". In the same book, O'Brien writes that one of the song's writers, Marcus De Vries claimed that it was a "brave decision", yet, that "Madonna captured the atmosphere of it beautifully". Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic, in a review for the album as a whole, wrote that, along with other tracks, it was amongst the "best songs on the album" and that they "slowly work their melodies into the subconscious as the bass pulses". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
praised the song, claiming that the song had unfulfilled potential and that it "could have been the next "Vogue"". In a review for her GHV2
album, he also described the song as a "trippy follow-up to the mainstream hit "Take a Bow"" and gave it an "A" rating. Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi wrote that that the song's "complex rhythmic texture" made it a "dance hall favorite in the mid-1990s". Rikky Rooksby, in his book The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, wrote that the song was similar to the music of English alternative
/electronic
pop
band Everything but the Girl
, and claimed that "in contrast to most other songs of the album, this is one track that could have been longer and more trippy than it is".
the song peaked at number forty-two, becoming the first Madonna single since 1983's "Burning Up
" not to reach the top-forty. Had she reached the top forty, she would at the time have become the third woman in the "rock
era" with the most top 40 hits, behind Aretha Franklin
and Connie Francis
. It would have given her a consecutive string of thirty-three top 40 hits, starting from her single "Holiday
" back in 1983. Nonetheless, the song's "loss" of radio airplay and sales prevented it from peaking within the US top forty. Nonetheless, the song became a dance-club hit, peaking at number one in the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs, and it was also successful in Europe
and abroad, reaching the top five success in markets such as the UK and Australia
at #4 and #5, respectively, and the top ten in Italy
at #8. In other countries, the song charted moderately, such as in Belgium
and New Zealand
, where it peaked within the top forty both at #38. It additionally charted in Canada
and the Netherlands
, missing the top forty as it peaked at #46 in both countries.
(who also directed the video for "Rain" and would later direct the "Scream
" music video for Michael Jackson
& Janet Jackson
), the video was considered to be one of Madonna's most artistic videos. It was shot at Universal Studios
in Universal City, California
from December 5–10, 1994.
Madonna said in an 1999 interview with Aperture magazine interesting insight into the video:
It was also inspired by the 1968 Armenian film The Color of Pomegranates
.
The video premiered as an MTV
special entitled "Madonna's Bedtime Story Pajama Party", in which Madonna read a bedtime story, the David Kirk
children's book "Miss Spider's Tea Party", inside NYC's Webster Hall to a select audience of invitees (all dressed in bedtime and clubkid wares). The video was, at the time, the most expensive video ever made, costing $5 million. As recently as 2005, the video has been screened in contemporary art galleries (including the Museum of Modern Art
, where it is stored in the permanent collection along with another video directed by Romanek for the Nine Inch Nails
song "Closer").
The video was later acquired for the New York Museum of Modern Art
's film and video collection.
.
The video was shot in April 2004 at Culver Studios
in Culver City, California
and contained scenes of Madonna using a white costume (very similar to the costume she used in her "Sorry" video) singing in front of a mirror and laying down on a big scanner. A beautiful white horse can be seen with her during the video riding on a white desert and running through white sheets. This video has never been commercially released but now can be watched full at PJ Lopez official website: pjlopez.com
character to "Bedtime Story". Lucy O'Brien
, in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, wrote that the song "foreshadowed her move towards electronica
" and labelled it an "embryonic moment that went a lot further on the next few albums". In a review for the Bedtime Stories album on a whole, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
wrote that the song was "the germ that would later inspire Madonna to seek out and conquer electronica with the likes of William Orbit
and Mirwais".
"Side 1"
"Side 2"
"Side 1"
"Side 2"
"Bedtime Story - Chapter II"
"Catalogue Number: PRO-A-7600"
"Produced by Nellee Hooper and Madonna"
"Additional Production and Remix by Mark Picchiotti
and Teri Bristol"
"Keyboards by Craig Snider"
"Engineered and Mixed by Mark and Teri at HUTCH Studio, Chicago"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
from her 1994 album Bedtime Stories
Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)
Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall and Nellee Hooper, deciding to move into a more R&B direction...
, written by Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
and Marius De Vries
Marius de Vries
Marius Van Wyk de Vries is an English music producer and composer. He has been behind some of the key albums and soundtracks of recent times, gathering five Grammy nominations, two BAFTAs, and an Ivor Novello award along the way.-Music Producer:...
and produced by Madonna herself as well as Nellee Hooper. The song was released as a single in April 1995. "Bedtime Story" was the third single off the album. It also appeared on her 2001 compilation album GHV2
GHV2
GHV2 is the second greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 2001, by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. It contains the most popular songs from the 1990s up until 2001. It is the follow-up to the 1990 release, The...
in a shorter edit form.
"Bedtime Story" is a mid-tempo electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
song with acid
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
-influenced "pulsating" house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
beats, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
tendencies and an underlying skeletal synth melody influenced by minimal trance music. The song also contains the presence of a drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
s, gurgle
Gurgle
For alternative use, see Somerset Gurgle.Gurgle.com is a British pregnancy and parenting website owned by high-street parenting store Mothercare. Founded by , Gurgle launched as a joint venture between Mothercare and Fleming Media, a family backed investment company, in October 2007. Mothercare...
s, handclaps and has an intricate rhythmic structure. It has also drawn comparisons to the style of new age music
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
. A considerable departure from Madonna's work at the time, being a rather unconventional, alternative and less melody-driven track, the song contrasted with Madonna's pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-based repertoire, as well as the contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and new jack swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
-based music of her early 1990s releases, with critics noting its evident electronic influences, which would later be present in subsequent albums, most notably Ray of Light
Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
and Music
Music (Madonna album)
Music is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on September 19, 2000 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records...
. The song starts with groans and eventually progresses into whispered speak-sung vocals, and the lyrics are about the joys of the unconscious world; scholars and academics have noted that the song contains lyrical subtexts. Critically, "Bedtime Story" received favourable reviews; music critics praised the song's hypnotic and electronic style, and deemed it an underrated song which could have had great potential, claiming that it could have been the new "Vogue". Commercially, the song was a moderate international success, reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, yet missing the top forty in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, peaking at forty-two. Nonetheless, the song was a major club hit, peaking at number one in the Hot Dance Club Songs.
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the "Bedtime Story" was directed by Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...
, and features a surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
imagery, with influences from artists such as Remedios Varo
Remedios Varo
Remedios Varo Uranga was a Spanish-Mexican, para-surrealist painter and anarchist. She was born María de los Remedios Varo Uranga in Anglès, Girona, Spain in 1908. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was greatly influenced by the surrealist movement...
, Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
and Leonora Carrington
Leonora Carrington
Leonora Carrington OBE was a British-born Mexican artist, a surrealist painter and a novelist. She lived most of her life in Mexico City.-Early life:...
. At a cost of $5 million, it is also one of the most expensive music videos of all time. In the video, Madonna is seen as being the subject of a scientific test, in which she falls asleep and travels into a dream world. The video received acclaim from critics, being deemed as one of Madonna’s most artistic music videos, and it was stored in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
"Bedtime Story" has left a legacy, with several critics, writers and scholars claiming that the song foreshadowed the singer's move towards electronic music in her future work; it was also written that it was part of the singer's influence in popularising sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
and the Mevlevi
Mevlevi
The Mevlevi Order, or the Mevlevilik or Mevleviye are a Sufi order founded in Konya by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian. They are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form...
tradition in mainstream Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
. Nevertheless, it has been described as one of her most potentially successful singles. "Bedtime Story" is also one of Madonna's less represented and performed songs; despite this, the song was performed at the 1995 BRIT Awards
1995 BRIT Awards
The 1995 BRIT Awards were the 15th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 20h February 1995 at Alexandra Palace in London.-Live performers:...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and a remixed version of the track was used as an interlude on her Re-Invention Tour in 2004, with a whole new video, directed by Dago Gonzalez, being used.
Background
"Bedtime Story" was written by IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic singer Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Marius DeVries and Nellee Hooper, and co-produced by Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
and Madonna. Issued as the third single from the Bedtime Stories album, the song received full remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
treatment. Alongside the single edit of the song, a number of dance remixes were commissioned, including two by Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
.
Musical composition and lyrics
"Bedtime Story" is, quintessentially an electronicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
song, which, according to sheet music published by Musicnotes.com of Alfred Publishing
Alfred Publishing
Alfred Music Publishing is a family-owned and operated music publishing company, founded in 1922. Headquartered in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, it is the largest educational music publisher in the world.- Profile :...
, is written in the key of G minor
G minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
and has a "moderate" tempo of 108 beats per minute. The song is a notable departure from Madonna's previous works and the other songs from the album, which are more R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and new jack swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
-driven; unlike Madonna's more up-tempo, melodic work, the song is slower and has less of a net melody, and also contains a complex rhythmic structure; it also places much emphasis on atmospheric qualities, containing an ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
-influenced tonality. The track, furthermore, contains a "pulsating" and "deep, bubbling" house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
beat which has drawn stylistic comparisons to acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
music, a "skeletal" synth arrangement, influences of trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
, more specifically, minimal trance, as well as techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
tendencies. The song's instrumentation, on the other hand, is synthesized
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, consisting of drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, loops, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
s, strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, gurgle
Gurgle
For alternative use, see Somerset Gurgle.Gurgle.com is a British pregnancy and parenting website owned by high-street parenting store Mothercare. Founded by , Gurgle launched as a joint venture between Mothercare and Fleming Media, a family backed investment company, in October 2007. Mothercare...
s, handclaps, as well as a digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
ly-altered "homophonic" choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. The lyrics are a hymn to the joys of unconsciousness and a rejection of the supposed constraints of reason and language, hence the line "Words are useless, especially sentences, They don't stand for anything, How could they explain how I feel?" The song is linked to the ending of the previous album track, "Sanctuary", and starts with its chord
Chord
Chord may refer to:* Chord , an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously.** Chord an aggregate of musical pitches played simultaneously on a guitar* Chord , a line segment joining two points on a curve...
s. After this, the skeletal synth arrangement begins, over which the singer can be heard groaning. This is followed by sound of the drum machine and machine handclap. Madonna sings the song in a subdued, speak-sing manner, with the line "Today is the last day I am using words". In the song, Madonna sings certain lines in a hypnotic style. The ending of the track has a pulsating beat and a mix of the lead synth, with Madonna's voice whimpering and uttering "Ha-ha-aahs". It ends abruptly saying "And all that you every learnt, try to forget, I'll never explain again" making the listener believe that it was all the part of a dream.
According to Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi, the song’s music bears many resemblances to new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
-era music and different forms of Sufi-inspired music; its slow atmospheric qualities have drawn comparison to "Mevlevi
Mevlevi
The Mevlevi Order, or the Mevlevilik or Mevleviye are a Sufi order founded in Konya by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian. They are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form...
-Sufi Relaxation"; the song's intricate rhythmic structure has also drawn comparison to the zikr ceremony; the song's "steady and continuous rhythmic loop is suggestive of zikr". Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, one of the song's writers, has been credited for giving the song its particular style. According to Marius De Vries
Marius de Vries
Marius Van Wyk de Vries is an English music producer and composer. He has been behind some of the key albums and soundtracks of recent times, gathering five Grammy nominations, two BAFTAs, and an Ivor Novello award along the way.-Music Producer:...
as recorded by Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien is an author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.-Early musical and writing career:...
in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, one of the song's writers, claimed that the track's architecture is "distinctly Björkian" and that the Icelandic singer "has such a particular and idiosyncratic approach to the construction of lyrics and phrasing". In a chapter of Music and technoculture written by Charity Marsh and Melissa West, it is stated that one can hear the influence of Björk in Madonna’s vocals during the song.
Lyrically, despite being a song about a trip to the unconscious, scholars have noticed subtexts within the song's meaning. Postmodern
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
and new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
themes seem to have been explored within the song's lyrics, especially with regards to their incapability of articulating the concept of the truth, as well as the song's theme of meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
and relax. Islamic mystic and sexual
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
themes have also been noted within the song's lyrics. According to Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi, the "clichéd references to "honey", "longing" and "yearning", and even the sexual connotations of being "wet" on the inside" relate not to "secular" love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
, yet to "ecstatic" Sufi poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. The song's lyrical themes contrast from those of her previous work, which was overtly sexual and based on erotic love; on the other hand, they explore concepts of movement which are "central" to Sufi philosophy, such as "leaving" and "going out". According to Victor Amaro Vincente, these "subtly" allude to "achieving fana through sema (getting "lost" and "leaving logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and reason
Reason
Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, ...
to the arms of unconsciousness").
Critical
Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien is an author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.-Early musical and writing career:...
, in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, wrote that "'Bedtime Story' was a vivid track that foreshadowed Madonna's move towards electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
". In the same book, O'Brien writes that one of the song's writers, Marcus De Vries claimed that it was a "brave decision", yet, that "Madonna captured the atmosphere of it beautifully". Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic, in a review for the album as a whole, wrote that, along with other tracks, it was amongst the "best songs on the album" and that they "slowly work their melodies into the subconscious as the bass pulses". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
praised the song, claiming that the song had unfulfilled potential and that it "could have been the next "Vogue"". In a review for her GHV2
GHV2
GHV2 is the second greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 2001, by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. It contains the most popular songs from the 1990s up until 2001. It is the follow-up to the 1990 release, The...
album, he also described the song as a "trippy follow-up to the mainstream hit "Take a Bow"" and gave it an "A" rating. Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi wrote that that the song's "complex rhythmic texture" made it a "dance hall favorite in the mid-1990s". Rikky Rooksby, in his book The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, wrote that the song was similar to the music of English alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
/electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
, and claimed that "in contrast to most other songs of the album, this is one track that could have been longer and more trippy than it is".
Commercial
On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
the song peaked at number forty-two, becoming the first Madonna single since 1983's "Burning Up
Burning Up
"Burning Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her self-titled debut album. It was released as the album's second single on March 9, 1983, in some countries as a AA side single with "Physical Attraction"...
" not to reach the top-forty. Had she reached the top forty, she would at the time have become the third woman in the "rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
era" with the most top 40 hits, behind Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
and Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
. It would have given her a consecutive string of thirty-three top 40 hits, starting from her single "Holiday
Holiday (Madonna song)
"Holiday" is a song by American singer Madonna from her self-titled debut album. Released on September 7, 1983 by Sire Records, it later appeared remixed on the 1987 remix compilation You Can Dance and the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection, and in its original form on the...
" back in 1983. Nonetheless, the song's "loss" of radio airplay and sales prevented it from peaking within the US top forty. Nonetheless, the song became a dance-club hit, peaking at number one in the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs, and it was also successful in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and abroad, reaching the top five success in markets such as the UK and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
at #4 and #5, respectively, and the top ten in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
at #8. In other countries, the song charted moderately, such as in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, where it peaked within the top forty both at #38. It additionally charted in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, missing the top forty as it peaked at #46 in both countries.
Music video
Directed by acclaimed director Mark RomanekMark Romanek
Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...
(who also directed the video for "Rain" and would later direct the "Scream
Scream/Childhood
"Scream"/"Childhood" is the lead single from Michael Jackson's ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I where "Scream" is the first song and "Childhood" is the tenth song on the second disc of the album HIStory Continues. The A-side, "Scream", is a duet with his younger sister...
" music video for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
& Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
), the video was considered to be one of Madonna's most artistic videos. It was shot at Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in Universal City, California
Universal City, California
Universal City is a community in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, that encompasses the 415 acre property of Universal Studios...
from December 5–10, 1994.
Madonna said in an 1999 interview with Aperture magazine interesting insight into the video:
"My 'Bedtime Story' video was completely inspired by all the female surrealist painters like Leonora CarringtonLeonora CarringtonLeonora Carrington OBE was a British-born Mexican artist, a surrealist painter and a novelist. She lived most of her life in Mexico City.-Early life:...
and Remedios VaroRemedios VaroRemedios Varo Uranga was a Spanish-Mexican, para-surrealist painter and anarchist. She was born María de los Remedios Varo Uranga in Anglès, Girona, Spain in 1908. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was greatly influenced by the surrealist movement...
. There's that one shot where my hands are up in the air and stars are spinning around me. And me flying through the hallway with my hair trailing behind me, the birds flying out of my open robe - all of those images are an homage to female surrealist painters; there's a little bit of Frida KahloFrida KahloFrida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
in there, too."
It was also inspired by the 1968 Armenian film The Color of Pomegranates
The Color of Pomegranates
The Color of Pomegranates is a 1968 Armenian film directed by Sergei Parajanov.-Overview:The Color of Pomegranates is a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat-Nova that attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally...
.
The video premiered as an MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
special entitled "Madonna's Bedtime Story Pajama Party", in which Madonna read a bedtime story, the David Kirk
David Kirk
David Edward Kirk, MBE, , is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He is best known for having been the captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987....
children's book "Miss Spider's Tea Party", inside NYC's Webster Hall to a select audience of invitees (all dressed in bedtime and clubkid wares). The video was, at the time, the most expensive video ever made, costing $5 million. As recently as 2005, the video has been screened in contemporary art galleries (including the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, where it is stored in the permanent collection along with another video directed by Romanek for the Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
song "Closer").
The video was later acquired for the New York Museum of Modern Art
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
's film and video collection.
- Director: Mark Romanek
- Producer: Cean Chaffin
- Director of Photography: Harris Savides
- Editor: Robert Duffy
- Production Company: Satellite Films
Bedtime Story (Re-Invented)
A re-edited version of the "Bedtime Story" (Orbital Mix), originally available on the single release, was used as a video interlude during Madonna's Re-Invention World Tour 2004The Re-Invention Tour
The Re-Invention World Tour was the sixth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It supported her ninth studio album American Life and visited North America and Europe. Madonna was inspired to create the tour, after taking part in an art installation called X-STaTIC PRo=CeSS, directed...
.
The video was shot in April 2004 at Culver Studios
Culver Studios
The Culver Studios is a historic Colonial-styled movie studio located at 9336 W. Washington Blvd., in Culver City, California. It was the site of filming for Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane and other classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age...
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
and contained scenes of Madonna using a white costume (very similar to the costume she used in her "Sorry" video) singing in front of a mirror and laying down on a big scanner. A beautiful white horse can be seen with her during the video riding on a white desert and running through white sheets. This video has never been commercially released but now can be watched full at PJ Lopez official website: pjlopez.com
- Director: Dago Gonzalez
- Producer: Audrey Verduin
- Director of Photography: PJ Lopez
- Editor: Dago Gonzalez
- Production Company: Veneno, Inc.VenenoVeneno is a production company based in Los Angeles, CA founded in 2000 by producer/director Dago Gonzalez and specializing in concert video design, music videos, and EPKs....
Legacy
"Bedtime Story" has frequently been cited as one of the songs with the most unfulfilled potential in Madonna's career; nonetheless, the song did enjoy some success, being a club "favorite" in the mid-1990s. It has also been described as the record that foreshadowed Madonna's usage of electronic music in her following work. According to Victor Amaro Vicente in his book The aesthetics of motion in musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi, the song was influential and left a legacy on Madonna's work, especially on her album Ray of Light, which, according to him, owes "its contemplative and electronic techno raveRave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
character to "Bedtime Story". Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien is an author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.-Early musical and writing career:...
, in her book Madonna: Like an Icon, wrote that the song "foreshadowed her move towards electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
" and labelled it an "embryonic moment that went a lot further on the next few albums". In a review for the Bedtime Stories album on a whole, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
wrote that the song was "the germ that would later inspire Madonna to seek out and conquer electronica with the likes of William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
and Mirwais".
Track listings and formats
- European Cassette Single / European CD Single
- "Bedtime Story" (Album Edit) 4:08
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Single Mix) 4:53
- European CD Single/UK CD Single 2
- "Bedtime Story" (Album Edit) 4:08
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Wet Dream Mix) 8:35
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Dreamy Drum Dub) 9:34
- "Bedtime Story" (Orbital Mix) 7:43
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Sound Factory Mix) 9:18
- UK CD Single Storybook (Limited Edition) (CD2 sold separately)
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Single Mix) 4:53
- "Secret" (Allstar Mix) 5:11
- "Secret" (Some Bizarre Mix) 9:48
- "Secret" (Some Bizarre Single Mix) 4:17
- UK 12" Single (Limited Edition) / European 12" Single
"Side 1"
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Sound Factory Mix) 9:18
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Sound Factory Dub) 8:19
"Side 2"
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Wet Dream Mix) 8:35
- "Bedtime Story" (Orbital Mix) 7:44
- US CD Single / US Cassette Single / US 7" Single
- "Bedtime Story" (Album Version) 4:53
- "Survival" (Album Version) 3:33
- US CD Maxi Single
- "Bedtime Story" (Album Edit) 4:08
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Wet Dream Mix) 8:35
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Dreamy Drum Dub) 9:34
- "Survival" (Album Version) 3:33
- "Bedtime Story" (Orbital Mix) 7:44
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Sound Factory Mix) 9:18
- "Bedtime Story" (Junior's Single Mix) 4:53
- "Bedtime Story (Chapter II)" : US 12" Promo Only Single
"Side 1"
- "Bedtime Story" (Lush Vocal Mix) 4:44
- "Bedtime Story" (Luscious Dub) 7:38
"Side 2"
- "Bedtime Story" (Percapella Mix) 6:30
- "Bedtime Story" (Unconscious In The Jungle Mix) 6:29
"Bedtime Story - Chapter II"
"Catalogue Number: PRO-A-7600"
"Produced by Nellee Hooper and Madonna"
"Additional Production and Remix by Mark Picchiotti
Mark Picchiotti
Mark Picchiotti is a club DJ, producer and songwriter based out of Chicago, Illinois.Picchiotti has been active in the dance music scene for over 20 years, establishing his reputation as a house, electronica and pop music DJ at Chicago clubs such as Shelter and Crobar. He has remixed songs by a...
and Teri Bristol"
"Keyboards by Craig Snider"
"Engineered and Mixed by Mark and Teri at HUTCH Studio, Chicago"
Official versions
- Album Version - 4:50
- Acapella - 2:18
- Radio/GHV2GHV2GHV2 is the second greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 2001, by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. It contains the most popular songs from the 1990s up until 2001. It is the follow-up to the 1990 release, The...
Edit - 4:07 - Junior's Wet Dream Mix - 8:33
- Junior's Wet Dream Single Mix/Junior's Single Mix - 4:53
- Junior's Wet Dream Dub - 7:25
- Junior's Dreamy Drum Dub - 9:32
- Junior's Sound Factory Mix - 9:32
- Junior's Sound Factory Dub - 8:19
- Junior's Acapella - 5:02
- Orbital Mix - 7:41
- Orbital Edit - 4:52
- Lush Vocal Mix - 6:48
- Lush Vocal Radio Edit - 4:43
- Unconscious In The Jungle Mix - 6:30
- Luscious Dub - 7:40
- Percapella - 6:30
- The Re-Invention TourThe Re-Invention TourThe Re-Invention World Tour was the sixth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It supported her ninth studio album American Life and visited North America and Europe. Madonna was inspired to create the tour, after taking part in an art installation called X-STaTIC PRo=CeSS, directed...
Official Studio Version - 4:01
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
February 13, 1995 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
April 11, 1995 |
Charts
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... Singles Chart |
5 |
| Belgian Wallonie Ultratop 40 Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
38 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 46 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
46 |
| Italian FIMI Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... Chart |
8 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 38 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
42 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales | 27 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |