Songfacts®:

• The song features raunchy lyrics about Britney being set on fire. The use of fire both figuratively and literally (and we hope in Britney's case its metaphorical!) is a frequently used device by songwriters. Check out songs where stuff is on fire for more.
• This Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco-produced track was co-written by Claude Kelly. The My Life Would Suck Without You and Party in the U.S.A. songwriter recalled Spear's recording of the song to PopEater: "Britney went in and knocked it out in one session. I'm really happy with the record because she sounds happy. The melody is slick and very fun. I love Britney's attitude, and there's a real sex appeal to 'Gasoline.' It's one of those sexy pop records that Britney's great at doing."
  
  Kelly added that he was also taken aback by her throwback approach to the track. "When I heard 'Gasoline,' Britney really surprised me because it sounds like she is having a good time," he said of the singer, who has overcome a series of personal difficulties.
• Claude Kelly told MTV News that he came up with the dance tune while thinking of Britney's sexiest moments. "The picture that I envisioned in my mind was 'Toxic,' 'Slave 4 U,' 'Boys,' like that kind of thing where it's sexy and it's hot, sweaty and she's in a club and she sees a guy," he explained. "That mysterious, exotic look, that whole imagery and that era where she's a man-eater and all the girls want to be her and all the guys would kill to be with her. I think she pulled it off for sure."
• Kelly knew that Spears wanted Femme Fatale to be a darker record. "For this time, she's in a place where she wants to be edgier again, so I was like, 'How am I going to make the word gasoline a cool song?'" he recalled. "That's really the challenge for me and I tried to play off what I know of Britney from the past, from the Blackout era, when she was more mysterious and dark. The one thing that kind of strings all of the songs along is that feeling of edginess and mysterious and sexy and a little bit playful but a little bit dangerous. If you can tap into what she's in the mood for, which is what happened with 'Gasoline,' clearly her mind was in the zone that 'I want to be edgy.'"