The Meaning Behind “Babydoll” by Dominic Fike and a Viral Hit About Unrequited Love

In “Babydoll”, Dominic Fike can’t move on. The girl he’s enamored with doesn’t feel the same, but still he tries. The song appears on Fike’s 2018 EP Don’t Forget About Me, Demos.

Recorded in Florida while Fike was under house arrest, “Babydoll” finds him searching for love as he tries getting his life back on track.

Another Tale of Unrequited Love

Fike’s unrequited love song begins with the singer waiting on the girl’s call.

I can’t move on, babydoll,
Waiting on calls, flipping through stations,
I’m outclassed, and it’s outrageous.

And I’ll take it all, babydoll,
Whatever’s been weighing you down.

Here, Fike recalls a turbulent childhood as he attempts to get over the girl—although Fike has clarified that his father wasn’t a pimp. His dad was a drug dealer.

Find me on Miami concrete,
Looking for somebody different,
’Cause my daddy was a pimp.
My mama had her issues, but I miss her anyway,
Oh, babydoll.

Still, he pretends to be confident, but his desperation remains obvious with each line.

Please don’t call me for the wrong reasons,
We both know exactly what I’m thinking.
Weeks pass, and I never grow tired,
’Cause I never said never and I barely ever lie.

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Outer Space

And Fike keeps trying. He invites the girl into a kind of reality, a perception of existence. Something greater than the physical. Fike also admitted to taking psychedelics when he wrote “Babydoll”, which explains the spacey gush below.

I’m on the road to an original place in outer space,
I didn’t make it up,
But you can’t find it on a phone or a globe.
And I can take you with me if you really wanna go.
Oh, babydoll, I can’t move on.

Reflecting on past struggles and the state of his life when writing “Babydoll”, Fike said, “Life at this time was fairly tumultuous, and I felt like a heavy burden on everyone I interacted with, especially women. I just hated being poor so much.”

Now on the other side of the chaos, he said, “Looking back now, that time ends up meaning the most.”

Photo by Siegfried Anthony/Billboard via Getty Images