How a phone call confession became 2025’s most provocative statement on female sexual autonomy
With Touch Me Like a Gangster, Jessie Murph has delivered what might be the most sexually explicit mainstream country-adjacent track of 2025.
Released on June 6th as part of her upcoming album Sex Hysteria, the song marks a dramatic departure from the introspective territory of her debut That Ain’t No Man, That’s The Devil.
Where her previous work looked inward, this latest offering broadcasts outward with startling directness.
The Art of the Confession
The song opens with what feels like eavesdropping on an intimate phone conversation: “Hey, baby / Now, I know we ain’t been talking for too long, but / There’s some things I feel like you just don’t know about me / Do you want to know a secret?”
Murph positions herself as the confident woman initiating an uncomfortable but necessary conversation.
This intro establishes the power dynamic immediately. She’s the one in control, the one with secrets to reveal.
The casual “Hey, baby” followed by the more formal “I know we ain’t been talking for too long” creates an intriguing tension between intimacy and distance.
Something deliciously subversive emerges in framing explicit sexual desires as “secrets” that need to be revealed rather than shame that needs to be hidden.
From Tender to Tempest
“Walk with me, follow me, baby, come talk with me / I love how tender you are with me / But I got a side that you oughta see”
Murph acknowledges the gentleness in her relationship while simultaneously announcing its limitations.
The repetitive “me” endings create a hypnotic pull, drawing the listener deeper into her world.
The strategic use of “but” reveals everything—tenderness isn’t wrong, it’s just incomplete. Your sweetness is lovely, she seems to say, but I need more dimensions to this dynamic.
The production mirrors this transition perfectly. A relatively restrained arrangement gradually grows more intense through strategic string arrangements and a percussive backbone that feels both vintage and contemporary.
The old-school production choices weren’t random decisions. They invoke an era when musical sexuality required more subtlety, which makes Murph’s explicit directness hit harder.
The Revelation: Unashamed Desire
“I like whips and chains / I like being tied to things, babe / I like some pain / Turn me upside down on swings, babe”
The pre-chorus changes everything. Murph’s confession is delivered with the same casual confidence someone might use to order coffee.
The matter-of-fact delivery matters here. No shame, no hesitation, no apology. Just facts about what she wants.
The imagery is deliberately provocative, but it’s also surprisingly playful.
“Turn me upside down on swings” could be read as genuinely innocent if you squint hard enough. This adds a layer of clever wordplay to otherwise explicit content.
Murph seems to be having fun with the shock value while making serious points about female sexual agency.
“I’d like to know / How far you gon’ go? / How far we gon’ go?”
These questions shift focus from her desires to his willingness to match them. It’s a challenge wrapped in curiosity, asking not just about physical boundaries but emotional ones too.
Can he handle a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it?
The Gangster Metaphor Unpacked
“I’ll tell you this, my love / I do not give a fuck / I want you on your worst behavior / Touch me like a gangster”
The Touch Me Like a Gangster lyrics meaning centres on this central metaphor.
Gangsters, in popular culture, represent power, danger, confidence, and a willingness to take what they want.
By asking to be touched “like a gangster,” Murph requests intensity, possessiveness, and ruthless passion. But she’s also flipping the script.
Typically, women are told to be the “good girl,” but here she’s explicitly requesting the opposite dynamic.
The phrase “I do not give a fuck” is delivered with such casual authority that it becomes almost revolutionary.
In a culture that still polices women’s sexual expression, this level of indifference to judgment feels radical. She’s not performing rebellion; she’s genuinely unbothered by conventional expectations.
“Ride me, baby boy, give it hell / This bed ain’t gon’ break itself”
The role reversal continues with “baby boy.” Typically a term of endearment for women, now directed at her male partner.
It’s a subtle but significant power flip that reinforces who’s directing this encounter.
The bed-breaking imagery works both literally and metaphorically, suggesting physical intensity and the destruction of whatever careful boundaries might have existed before this conversation.
Verse Two: Finding Her Match
“You look like you like whips and chains / Won’t you do something insane, babe? / I want that strange / What stay hidden in your brain, babe?”
The second verse reveals a crucial development. She’s not just expressing her desires in a vacuum—she’s reading his responses and liking what she sees.
The repetition of “whips and chains” from the pre-chorus suggests she’s found someone who matches her energy, but now she wants to push further into psychological territory.
“I want that strange” is particularly intriguing because it suggests she’s attracted to the unconventional, the slightly dangerous, the parts of personality that most people keep hidden.
“What stay hidden in your brain” implies she wants access to his darkest fantasies, his most carefully guarded thoughts.
It’s intimate in a way that goes beyond physical—she wants psychological nakedness too.
This verse reveals how the song operates on multiple levels of intimacy.
“Lock that door / Want that on the floor”
These brief, almost staccato commands showcase how completely she’s taken control of the narrative.
The brevity makes them feel urgent, immediate. She’s not requesting anymore; she’s directing.
Murph’s raspy vocals shift to higher pitches at strategic moments, drawing out and leaning into the songwriting’s most provocative elements.
The track grows more intense alongside the lyrics, using strings to create tension and release that mirrors the sexual energy of the words.
The vintage production style, reminiscent of ’60s soul and R&B, creates an interesting contrast with the very modern directness of the lyrics.
There’s something distinctly Ariana Grande-esque about the vocal runs and syncopation, particularly in the outro where Murph syncopates her words with percussive string sounds.
The repetitive “This bed ain’t gonna break itself” becomes almost mantra-like by the song’s end, reinforced by the production’s growing intensity.
It works both literally and metaphorically—beds, like sexual taboos, don’t break themselves. Someone has to be willing to apply the necessary force.
A Deliberate Evolution
According to industry reports, Murph has described this as her “rawest and realest era yet,” and the evidence is undeniable.
The shift from the introspective nature of her debut album to this bold sexual manifesto represents a complete artistic transformation.
Where her previous work examined life introspectively, Sex Hysteria promises to showcase a confident, powerful, and unabashedly feminine perspective.
The timing feels particularly significant. Her debut at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Show in Miami—performing in a ’60s-style pink plastic mini dress, silver heels, and a whip in hand—suggests this isn’t just musical evolution but a complete reimagining of her public persona.
Breaking Convention, Building Confidence
Sex Hysteria, set for release July 18th, promises to continue this theme of unfiltered sexual honesty.
The album title itself is provocative. Hysteria has historically been used to pathologize women’s emotions and desires, particularly sexual ones.
If this single represents the album’s direction, Murph is positioning herself as a voice for women who are tired of downplaying their desires to make others comfortable.
It’s a bold artistic gamble that could either establish her as a fearless voice in contemporary music or limit her mainstream appeal.
For anyone wondering what is the meaning behind Touch Me Like a Gangster by Jessie Murph, the answer lies in this simple but radical premise: women deserve to want what they want, and they shouldn’t have to apologise for it.
You might also like:
- We Hug Now Song Meaning & Review: Sydney Rose’s Emotional Reflection
- YG Marley Praise Jah in the Moonlight Lyrics: An In-Depth Analysis
- Mariah the Scientist’s Burning Blue Lyrics Meaning: A Portrait of Fire & Frost
- Luther Lyrics Explained: Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s Love Song That Cuts Deeper Than It Sounds
Jessie Murph Touch Me Like a Gangster Lyrics
Intro
Hey, baby
Now, I know we ain’t been talking for too long, but
There’s some things I feel like you just don’t know about me
Do you wanna know a secret?
Verse 1
Walk with me, follow me, baby, come talk with me
I love how tender you are with me
Boy, I got a sight that you’ll wanna see, baby
Pre-Chorus
I like whips and chains, I like being tied to things, babe
I like some pain, turn me upside down on swings, baby
I’d like to know, how far you gon’ go?
How far we gon’ go? Oh, uh
Chorus
I’ll tell you this, my love
I do not give a fuck
I want you on your worst behavior
Touch me like a gangster
Rock me, baby boy, give it hell
This bed ain’t gon’ break itself
[Post-Chorus]
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
Verse 2
You look like you like whips and chains, won’t you do something insane, baby?
I want that strange
What’s that hidden in your brain, baby?
Lock that door
Want that on the floor
How far we gon’ go? Oh, uh
Chorus
I’ll tell you this, my love
I do not give a fuck
I want you on your worst behavior
Touch me like a gangster
Rock me, baby boy, give it hell
This bed ain’t gon’ break itself
Post-Chorus
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gon’ break itself, no
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gon’ break itself
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gonna break itself
This bed ain’t gon’ break itself
