“Chaise Longue” by Wet Leg
A chaise longue, it should initially be noted, is basically a type of couch. And the origin of the composition of this song dates back to an episode where Rhian Teasdale, the vocalist, actually found herself chillin’ all day on such a piece of furniture found in the home of her Wet Leg bandmate, Hester Chambers.
And she decided to take advantage of the opportunity by engaging in some impromptu songwriting.
But that said, the lyrics are not about hanging out on a chaise longue. Instead they are replete with sexual innuendos in which such a chair, especially in the second and third verses, serves as a plot device. In the former, what it reads like is the vocalist inviting an unspecified addressee to have sex on a chaise longue. And so it is with the latter also, although in the third verse said chair in her dressing room, which Rhian is apparently inviting someone who caught her eye in the audience during a performance to.
As for the first verse, what’s being implied is that during her school years (and in college presumably), the vocalist engaged in an ample amount of gratifying, heterosexual activity, which she is actually notifying her parents of. And as for the track’s refrain and outro, it is highlighted by the phrase “on the chaise longue, all day long”.
So most simply explained, this is a sex song. And if we wanted to complicate matters a bit, it can also be put forth that Chaise Longue sports sort of a feminist slant, i.e. being relayed by a woman who is obviously sexually liberated to big up her erotic activities and desires.
“On the chaise longue, on the chaise longue”
Release Date of “Chaise Longue”
On June 15 of 2021 British rock duo Wet Leg marked their entry in the music business with their debut single “Chaise Longue”. This track was issued through British record label Domino. It appears on the collective’s self-titled debut studio album, which was also released through the same record label.
Credits
Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers hold the song’s writing credits. Production, on the other hand, was solely handled by Jon McMullen.
Success of “Chaise Longue”
A viral hit in 2021, “Chaise Longue” has earned Wet Leg several important accolades including an award at one of music’s biggest award ceremonies, the Grammy Awards. It won in the category of “Best Alternative Music Performance”.
The “Wet Leg” Album
“Wet Leg”, which has a release date of April 8 of 2021, was accompanied by a total of six singles including “Chaise Longue”, which serves as its lead single. The record’s other singles are:
- “Wet Dream”
- “Too Late Now”
- “Oh No”
- “Angelica”
- “Ur Mum”
The album topped the UK’s official albums chart. It achieved a similar result in Australia, while peaking at number 14 in the US.
Like its viral hit lead single, the album itself also won an award during the Grammys in 2023. It picked up the “Best Alternative Music Album” award at that year’s ceremony.
In addition, “Wet Leg” has received impressive rankings on various notable publications’ year-end lists. This includes being ranked at number 2 on NME’s “The 50 Best Albums of 2022”.
This record was also placed at number 10 by Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines, on their respective compilations dubbed “The 50 Best Albums of 2022” and “The 100 Best Albums of 2022”.
