What it lacks in space, the humble twin bed more than makes up for in character. Many of us started out on a twin bed, and some of us, myself included, stayed in one for far too long. And as it turns out, the musicians of the world are no exception. You can find shout-outs to the king of mattresses (king-sized mattresses notwithstanding) all across popular music. What gets me, though, is how variously this most slept-on of symbolic devices can be employed. It seems that you can pack a lot of meaning into 3,000 square inches. Let’s take a look at a few of my favorite examples.
1. “(Do It On My) Twin Bed,” Saturday Night Live Cast (2014)
“Let's do it in my twin bed (twin bed)
Not gonna like it (like it)
But it's the only option (option)
Where we can get it poppin’ (poppin’)”
Alright, let’s get this one out of the way. The SNL Digital Short is by far the silliest example on this list, but the whole thing would feel incomplete if I didn’t include it. So yeah. There’s not much to analyze here, and even though jokes are always waaay funnier when explained in blog posts, I’ll keep it brief. While most of the songs on this list go for an emotional angle when invoking the twin bed, SNL subverts the norm by playing it for laughs. It’s a solid concept. Plus, it serves as a nice foil for the rest of my list.
2. “All Too Well,” Taylor Swift (2012)
“Photo album on the counter
Your cheeks were turning red
You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed”
My appreciation for “All Too Well” is well-documented, but I’m not about to pass up on an opportunity to talk about it some more. This song is, at its core, about memories (or possibly Jake Gyllenhaal). In “All Too Well,” the “little kid with glasses” is long gone, just like the man he would become. What remains are these reminders of innocence. The twin bed isn’t the only object Swift references, but as you can imagine, it’s the one that hits me the hardest. The combination of Swift’s lyrics and restrained yet emotive vocals make this scene so vivid. I feel like I’m looking right over her shoulder at that photo album.
3. “Romeo and Juliet,” Hobo Johnson (2016)
“It's the lullabies I sang out of tune, that's probably what did it
Or my twin size mattress that I had since I was 7
That we have to sleep on whenever she spends the night
And if she falls off again, she’ll find another guy to like”
While I’m not a big fan of Hobo Johnson, I have to admit: his blunt lyrical style makes analysis a lot more straightforward. It’s pretty clear Johnson isn’t proud of his twin bed. It’s not just a symbol for us, it’s a reminder of his own inadequacies and immaturity. He’s outgrown it, but he hasn’t really outgrown it. As someone who slept in a twin bed until he was 21, I’m a little offended by this disdain. But I can’t really argue it.
4. “Your New Twin Sized Bed,” Death Cab For Cutie (2008)
“You look so defeated, lying there in your new twin sized bed
With a single pillow underneath your single head
I guess you decided that that old queen
Was more space than you would need
Now it's in the alley behind your apartment
With a sign that says "It's free"
Of all the songs on this list, “Your New Twin Sized Bed” definitely stays on the twin bed motif the longest. It’s also probably the most literal. The subject is newly single, so she’s… sleeping on a single. But don’t let this directness keep you from appreciating the song. It’s got some beautiful instrumentation, and singer Ben Gibbard’s poetic lyrics evoke real sympathy for the song’s subject.
5. “Twin Size Mattress,” The Front Bottoms (2013)
“She hopes I’m cursed forever
To sleep on a twin size mattress
In somebody’s attic or basement my whole life
Never graduating up in size to add another
And my nightmares will have nightmares every night”
The song that inspired this article. This one, by emo/folk/pop punk band The Front Bottoms, is my favorite use of the twin bed as a symbol. I’ve heard a few different interpretations of the lyrics to “Twin Sized Mattress,” but they usually boil down to frontman/songwriter Brian Sella’s failed attempt to help a troubled friend. In the song’s climax, Sella’s friend rejects his concerns and responds with a curse: that he live out the rest of his days alone. Here, the twin bed’s size is isolating, not intimate. It’s a denial of personal and interpersonal growth, made worse by its location in “somebody’s attic or basement.” In short, it’s just about the worst thing someone you love could wish upon you. That’s why it’s such a brilliant concept to hinge a song on.
The bottom line, musicians: consider a mattress downsize. Maybe it’s the universality of the symbol, or maybe it’s the almighty power of nostalgia, but something about the twin bed makes it quite the muse. Whatever it is, give these songs a listen. Preferably on the smallest mattress you can find.
Lyle B.