‘Slim Pickins’ by Sabrina Carpenter - Lyrics & Meaning

Sabrina Carpenter has now released one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of 2024 - Short n’ Sweet - following the spectacular success of her lead single, ‘Espresso’. The infectious, ubiquitous earworm was quickly followed up by another colossal hit, ‘Please, Please, Please’, which consolidated the Pennsylvania singer-songwriter as one of the undisputed break-out stars of the year.

To listeners’ surprise, nestled among the vibrant, pop-infused anthems at No. 9 is a stripped-back country ballad - ‘Slim Pickins’. Although certainly unexpected, Sabrina Carpenter's decision to dip her toe into the country world is not the stark left-turn some might think it is. Earlier in the summer, for instance, Sabrina paid homage to Kacey Musgraves’ influence by bringing the ‘Irish Goodbye’ crooner out at Outside Lands to cover Nancy Sinatra's ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.

As is the case for the majority of Short n’ Sweet, social media has been awash with speculation and conjecture as to who served as the muse for relationship-oriented tracks such as the viral ‘Taste’ and ‘Slim Pickins’. Some suspect Shawn Mendes, Sabrina Carpenter's ex, is the inspiration behind both of these, while Sabrina's current rumoured boyfriend, Barry Keoghan, is another figure that is believed to have inspired the lyrics on this record. Regardless of who it was written about, ‘Slim Pickins’ is one of the many stand-outs on the new album. Sabrina first performed ‘Slim Pickins’ during a Grammy Museum showcase in early August.

Compared to the more eye-catching, synth-laden singles that Sabrina Carpenter dropper ahead of the new album, ‘Slim Pickins’ is refreshingly sparse. Sabrina's intricate, sinuous voice glide across an undulating, meandering acoustic guitar riff, with choral backing vocals adding to the atmospheric ambience.

“Guess I'll end this life alone

I am not dramatic

These are just the thoughts that pass right through me

All the douchebags in my phone

Play 'em like a slot machine

If they're winnin', I'm just losin'”

Throughout ‘Slim Pickins’, Sabrina Carpenter maintains the playful, tongue-in-cheek tone of fan-favourites such as ’Espresso’. She opens the track by despairingly concluding that she'll die alone, before quickly quipping that “I am not dramatic”.

She shrugs her shoulders and resorts to having flings with the “douchebags” in her phone, before underlining that she holds the power in these dynamics, describing herself as playing them “like a slot machine”. Sabrina then remarks that if they end up ‘winning’ her affection, she just loses, because she doesn't like them deep down.

“A boy who's jacked and kind

Can't find his ass to save my life”

Sabrina outlines the qualities she's looking in her partner: someone who's both physically and emotionally in tune. At the moment, though, she “can't find his ass to save my life”.

“Oh, it's slim pickings

If I can't have the one I love

I guess it's you that I'll be kissin'

Just to get my fixings

Since the good ones are deceased or taken

I'll just keep on moanin' and bitchin'”

The country feel of this track is accentuated by Sabrina Carpenter's use of the titular phrase, ‘Slim Pickins’, which is generally associated with those in the Southern US. Sabrina uses this to express her frustration at the measly options she finds when looking for a boyfriend, before amusingly addressing her present partner and making it clear he's just a stop-gap, and that she doesn't really love him.

Sabrina Carpenter adds another dose of levity here, as she reaches the conclusion that all the good options for a boyfriend are either in a relationship already, or they're dead.

“Jesus, what's a girl to do?

This boy doesn't even know

The difference between "there," "their" and "they are"

Yet he's naked in my room

Missin' all the things he's missin'

God knows that he isn't livin' large”

Sabrina Carpenter doubles-down on her disdainful attitude towards her current partner, as she hilariously rolls her eyes at his grammatical skills. She observes that he keeps ‘missin’ all the things he's missin’, implying he's perpetually a beat behind in their conversation. This seemingly ties in with ‘Sharpest Tool’, another track from Short n’ Sweet that finds Sabrina framing her partner as not being the brightest.

She highlights that he doesn't have a big income as he isn't ‘livin’ large’. Given Sabrina's penchant for risqué humour, and the fact that she's just portrayed her boyfriend as being naked, it's likely this line is a double-entendre implying he isn't well-endowed.

Throughout ‘Slim Pickins’ and the album as a whole, Sabrina's sarcastic digs and often demeaning descriptions are meant to be delivered in jest, rather than being taken too seriously.

“A boy who's nice, that breathes

I swear he's nowhere to be seen”

Sabrina references her earlier comment that all the appealing, attractive boys must be dead by adding that her ideal partner is someone who is both nice and who is breathing.

“Since the good ones call their exes wasted

And since the Lord forgot my gay awakenin'

Then I'll just be here in the kitchen

Servin' up some moanin' and bitchin'”

These final lines find Sabrina complaining about how ‘the good ones’ are still hung up on their exes, before joking about how God must've forgotten to give her a “gay awakenin’”. As she's not gay, she has to be content thumbing through the limited, disappointing options for boyfriends in front of her. In the background, you can hear the notification alert on Grindr - a dating and social networking app for the LGBTQ+ community - which informs users when someone expresses an interest. Sabrina pointedly follows this up by depicting herself as conforming to traditional gender norms, resigning herself to being stuck “in the kitchen”.

During an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Sabrina Carpenter touched on how she knew her new record, Short n’ Sweet, was completed, “[It was] very different from my last album, where I questioned it until the day it came out, like is it done? Could I have changed it? Could I have written another song? To be fair, I do have a hard time with the fact that I do feel like life doesn't stop, so it's really had to tell when a chapter of your life should be bookended. It doesn't really make sense, other than you just have a feeling - I know it sounds very cliche - but you just know. And there was a moment where I just knew”.

Sabrina expanded on how this body of work has impacted her, “It wasn't even like, ’Oh, I wrote the 12th song!’ It was all of these things that I had been trying to put into words for a brief chapter in my life, that I was like, you know what? I'm good for the next week. Then I'm gonna write another album! I was just ready to close it, and also I just will never forget this album for teaching me so much about myself”.

“Guess I'll end this life alone

I am not dramatic

These are just the thoughts that pass right through me

All the douchebags in my phone

Play 'em like a slot machine

If they're winnin', I'm just losin'

-

A boy who's jacked and kind

Can't find his ass to save my life

-

Oh, it's slim pickings

If I can't have the one I love

I guess it's you that I'll be kissin'

Just to get my fixings

Since the good ones are deceased or taken

I'll just keep on moanin' and bitchin'

-

Ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah

-

Jesus, what's a girl to do?

This boy doesn't even know

The difference between "there," "their" and "they are"

Yet he's naked in my room

Missin' all the things he's missin'

God knows that he isn't livin' large

-

A boy who's nice, that breathes

I swear he's nowhere to be seen

-

It's slim pickings

If I can't have the one I love

I guess it's you that I'll be kissin'

Just to get my fixings

Since the good ones are deceased or taken

I'll just keep on moanin' and bitchin'

-

Moanin' and bitchin'

-

Since the good ones call their exes wasted

And since the Lord forgot my gay awakenin'

Then I'll just be here in the kitchen

Servin' up some moanin' and bitchin'”

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