Chaise Longue

Album: Wet Leg (2022)
Charted: 74
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Wet Leg's debut single is a skittering, sexually charged cut written by vocalist Rhian Teasdale while sitting on guitarist Heater Chambers' chaise longue. Inherited from Chambers' grandfather, the chaise longue serves as Teasdale's bed when she stays with her bandmate.
  • A chaise longue is a French upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair. Because it is long enough to support the legs, you're supposed to lie down on it rather than sit. Teasdale wrote the lyrics while sitting on the chaise longue, so she's making fun of herself for using the furniture the wrong way.

    Hey, you, over there
    On the chaise longue, in your underwear
    What are you doing sitting down?
    You should be horizontal now


    "To be horizontal" is also a euphemism for sex.
  • Teasdale borrows some dirty dialogue from the 2004 teen comedy movie Mean Girls.

    Is you muffin buttered?
    Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?
  • Chambers and Teasdale penned this cheeky, innuendo-laced song during a late night jam in 2019. After signing with Domino, Wet Leg released "Chaise Longue" as the lead single from their eponymous debut album on June 15, 2021. It gained media attention for earning millions of streams and video views and made many publications' top songs of 2021 lists.
  • The low-budget video shows Teasdale and Chambers prancing around the fields on their native Isle Of Wight. Teasdale deadpans the lyrics straight to the camera while Chambers maniacally dances in the background.

    The pair spent about £50 on the clip. Chambers set up the shots, and her boyfriend filmed it with her camera while sitting in the boot of a car. Teasdale then edited it using a free trial version of Final Cut.

    "The house in the video is my mum's house and stuff like the rocking horse were still there from my childhood," Chambers told Under The Radar. "We didn't really over-think it and made use of what we had."
  • Bonus fun fact: Thomas Jefferson owned a chaise lounge which he fit with candlestick holders in both arms to provide light for reading.
  • A proposed two-day visit by Rhian Teasdale to Hester Chambers' place turned into several weeks of crashing out on her chaise lounge. "We went into teenage sleepover mode, watched loads of X Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and had late night jams. And that's where 'Chaise Lounge' came from, that big sleepover sesh," Teasdale told Mojo magazine.
  • "Chaise Longue" won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance at the 2023 ceremony, where Wet Leg also won for Best Alternative Music Album.
  • Wet Leg played a quirky rendition of the song at the 2023 BRIT Awards. They won both Best British Group and Best New Artist at the ceremony.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. Televangelists

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. TelevangelistsSong Writing

When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Maria Muldaur

Maria MuldaurSongwriter Interviews

The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin Popoff

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin PopoffSong Writing

A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.