If you’re old enough, you probably remember this little hit from 1999.
But have you ever thought about what the song actually means? Well, I made the mistake of doing so.
What on earth is it talking about? I don’t think that, at any point during the song, they actually explain what “that way” is that they want it. So, as with many things that are incredibly vague, it must be an allusion to sex. They just didn’t want to say it explicitly, because that would make it a dirty song and would tarnish their squeaky-clean image in the minds of millions of teenage girls.
I think the difficulty is that depending on who they’re talking about, “that way” refers to different things. In the first part:
You are my fire
The one desire
Believe when I say
I want it that way
He’s probably talking about anal sex when he says he wants it “that way.” He really wants his girlfriend to penetrate him anally, most likely with a dildo or some similar contraption. The man’s G-spot is in the anus, after all. I know only because I read that online somewhere.
And after he laments that she never reaches his G-spot, they start talking about the girl’s vague desires in the second part:
But we are two worlds apart
Can’t reach to your heart
When you say
That I want it that way
Now what she wants is probably a threesome with another guy. But when she suggested this, the Backstreet Boy of your choice was horrified, being terribly homophobic and unwilling to be in a situation where he might potentially have to touch another man’s genitalia. And now they are “two worlds apart” after the horrible fight they had about how he’s so closed-minded and that it’s just a penis and he should get over it. He probably yelled back that she didn’t go for a threesome with a girl when he suggested it, so now why does he have to consider a threesome with a guy?
And then she probably used his desire for anal sex against him, saying that that’s something that only gay men do. Which is totally wrong, but it’s a misconception that many people have anyway. He probably started yelling something about how he always reaches her G-spot, even though he has to go through contortions to get his penis to reach the damn thing because it’s in such an inconvenient location. I mean, the front wall of the vagina? How many men have penises shaped like hooks? He had to thrust at this ridiculous angle just to even graze the thing. And there’s only so many times he could do that come-hither motion with his fingers before getting cramps. Since he’s working so damn hard to reach her G-spot, why can’t she just shove her dildo up his ass to reach his? It didn’t seem like such a big favor to ask.
So, alas, the couple split up, unable to fulfill each other’s sexual desires. And now they’re at the airport, attempting to flee the country to find women who are more open-minded and willing to engage in anal sex.