By the name 'Smartphones' you don't really know what you could expect because 'Smartphones' could be good in a sense that having 'Smartphones' have made lives much easier for people to contact each other and so forth. However 'Smartphones' are bad in a sense that they could ruin relationships which is the approach that Trey Songz took when he wrote this song. Its all about him having a few to many and enjoying himself too much and forgot that he was supposed to remain faithful to his girlfriend. The reason he called it 'Smartphones' is because in the act making love and he dialled his girlfriends phone number by mistake without realising and she answered and heard everything.
In the Song Trey explains how he is going to try and explain what happened but he just does not know how he is going to do that. So his trying to rush to her to explain what happened and the more he thinks about it the more angry he gets with himself because his feels like his about to lose the most important person in his life and he regrets everything. He even contemplates lying to her but he cant even think what he could even say as a lie.
Verse 1
"She picks up the phone"In my head I know I'm wrong"I just want to know what she's heard"
This first line personally makes me think that something bad is to come with this phone call. I got this feeling in the way Trey sings it, its very mellow and quite sad and it gives that impression that something is not right. The second line " In my head i know I'm wrong" gives of the impression that Trey realises what he done was wrong and he doesn't know what to do. He has just let the persons he loves dearly hear him and another woman in the act. which must have very painful to her. By hearing these first two lyrics we get that Trey is a cheater and that he cannot control himself when his woman is not around him. Which sends a very bad image of Trey to the listener. His third line " i just want to know what she's heard" makes me think that t]he wishes that maybe she didn't hear a lot, maybe the phone cut off before too much damage was done. This line also gives a sense of hope that Trey could have but unfortunately for him she heard everything. I think that to start a song off with such impactful lyrics gets the listener in more tune with the song. It makes you want to find out what he does and if she forgives him or not. Also they are short lines that get straight to the point which i also think works well in this particular song.
"I'm pacing back and forth, cause i know that I've been caught"Trying to think of the perfect words"
With his line " I'm pacing back and forth, cause i want to know what she's heard" To me i gathered that he knew she knew and now he was trying to go back and think how he was so stupid to be able to pocket dial his woman whilst in the act with another woman, its very strange that it was her and nobody else. The first thing he does when he was caught redhanded was panic, his wandering the room "Trying to think of the perfect words" Now he has been caught he thinks about lying to her which is the worst thing he could do. That line portrays Trey to be a lier as well as a cheater. As he says " Trying to find the perfect words" the "Perfect words" could be also refer to an apology however this theory is denied in the following lines of the hook. It could (debatable) mean that Trey was contemplating telling the truth and apologising but he realised he will lose her if he does. Which is understandable but unacceptable because by only lying to her his digging a deeper hole for himself when all the truth comes out , which it most likely will.
Hook 1
"So i can come to her and lie right to her face" I don't know what I'm gonna say"But i know that I'm gonna say" Whatever it takes"
The next lines are the line in the hook that Trey sings and to begin the hook he says " So i can come to her and lie right to her face" Instantly that line shows Trey to be a very bad guy because she is considering going to lie to a woman who clearly header him on the phone having sexual relations with another woman. The fact that he wants to "Lie right to her face" portrays Trey as a childish man who can't faces problems that he has caused. However again he could be oblivious to the fact that lying to her could make things even worse, he could lie to her so that he doesn't make her upset because maybe she doesn't deal with issues like that well we don't know! But the still doesn't divert the the audience into think that Trey is not worthy to be with the woman he has clearly upset. His following line is " I don't know what I'm gonna say" because he has been caught no Trey is thinking of things that he could say perhaps to limit the damage that has already been done but he can't think of any thing to say to her. There is no easy explanation that he can think off that will get him out of this and make it seem like a misunderstanding. He following line's are " But I know what I'm gonna say, Whatever is takes" Here Trey is basically trying to plead and say that he is willing to say what ever no matter how crazy or unbelievable to make her stay. I think that the pre hook is quite a controversial, whether its better to tell the truth or to destroy the love forever, or remain silent and learn from your mistakes so that you never repeat them again.
The lyrics of hook 1 repeat themselves twice before moving on to the next lyrics. I think that repeating those lyrics again has a better impact than only singing them once because it shows that Trey was truly thinking of what he was gonna say but he just didn't know and I think that as a listener, listening to those lyrics twice had a much bigger impact because you get a "what would you do if that was you" sort of feeling which gets you thinking.
Hook 2
"Time is not on our side" Cause she's waving goodbye x2" Smartphones, dumb shit"
"Time is not on our side" to me comes across as that Trey knows he doesn't have much time to try and make his woman stay and whatever he does, it has to be spot on in every sense otherwise she wont stay. This part his rushing to her as fast as he can still contemplating what his gonna say. "Time" could be another way of saying that the relationship was going to end soon anyways but just not like this. the following two lines in the hook Trey repeats. These are "Cause she's waving goodbye" Here Trey is basically saying that he can feel her slipping away from him by the second and that line also makes me feel like his envisioning her waving at him in anger whilst drive away and that's like the last time he would see her. Alternatively she could be waving good bye to all the bad things that Trey has done and looking past them and remain in a relationship with him but that's very doubtful considering the lyrics being sung. To finish his second Hook he says "Smartphones, dumb shit" this could refer both to the phones and the act of infidelity that he has committed and now regrets.
Trey Songz in a different song called 'Mashable' " These phones are so smart in all that they do, that its like they're an extension of our brain, but what they cant do is always prevent human error and human nature. The mistakes that we as humans make, the relationships that we make and we break, no amount of technology can save" What Trey says he is very true but also I think that he forgot a main part that smartphones only help catch cheaters and people doing things that they shouldn't be doing in the first place, which is what happened to him in this case.
Verse 2
"Never knew I call so if she heard it all" I'm all out of luck tonight"
Basically here Trey is saying that hopefully she didn't hear that happened with the other girl and that she only heard a little bit which wasn't as bad and he was certain that he could ex[lain himself to try and get out of it. However if she heard everything then, that's it between him and his woman. When he says " I'm all out of luck tonight" basically he means that whatever he tries will not work.
"I can say it was a joke but who am I kidding she ain't slow, Only way to make it right"
In this first line Trey is still contemplating ways in which he could get himself out of this mess and his not accepting the fact that he done something wrong and lying will only dig a deeper hole for himself. However he realises that she's not dumb and that she already knows the truth. That fact that he thought that he could lie to her and say it was a joke, to me seems like he was disparately thinking of ways to put all of this behind him. However as all of this is happen his woman is packing her stuff and ready to go and leave him.
