Bagdad (song)
"Bagdad" is a song by Spanish singer Rosalía. It was released on 4 December 2018 by Columbia Records as the fourth single from her second studio album, El mal querer.
Inspired by the Barcelonian erotic club of the same name, lyrically "Bagdad" talks about a woman's loneliness. It was written by Antón Álvarez, Leticia Sala, Luís Troquel and Rosalía, with production handled by El Guincho and co-produced by Rosalía herself. It contains an interpolation of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" and a choral participation by the Orfeó Català as well as arrangements by Joan Albert Amargós.
Background
In an interview with Beats 1, Rosalía said she was inspired by an erotic club in Barcelona called Bagdad and by Timberlake's "Cry Me a River": "He heard the song and said, "Yes, you can use the melody"; I was so excited because he never approves anything."In this song, Rosalía represents a woman drowned by her anguish and grief due to a bad love. The woman does nothing to prevent it, but flooded by her own tears she finds salvation. The liturgy, a worship ceremony, ends with a rebirth. The song's lyrics, part of a narrative arc that spans the whole album, revolve around the main character of the story being seen alone crying in the streets at night, clapping her hands in sorrow "like she's praying to the rhythm of bulerías", and then being rescued by a "fallen angel".