Carry Out (Featuring Justin Timberlake)

"Carry Out" is a song built around an extended and playful metaphor comparing sexual attraction and seduction to ordering food from a fast-food restaurant. The entire lyrical content uses the language of dining, ordering, and consuming to describe the artists' desire for a woman. Timbaland explained that the intention was to create a new, more subliminal slang for expressing attraction to women, moving away from more direct or crude compliments. He stated, "Instead of 'Your phat butt' or 'Your big breasts,' we say, 'Oh, I need you. Can I be your carry out? Be my carry out. I want you to be my dinner, my leftovers, my everything.'" The song's meaning, therefore, is centered on flirtation and carnal desire, but it's expressed through a clever, consistent, and humorously objectifying theme. Phrases like "Take my order," "super-size," "drive-through," and "have it your way" are all double entendres that sexualize common fast-food marketing slogans. Ultimately, the song is a confident, upbeat, and flirtatious proposition, showcasing the playful and undeniable creative chemistry between Timbaland and Justin Timberlake.

The narrative unfolds as a playful and confident seduction, framed entirely within the metaphor of a fast-food or carry-out restaurant. The singers, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, position themselves as eager customers captivated by a woman whose appeal is described using the language of a delicious menu. The song begins with an invitation, comparing the woman's allure to being as enticing and constantly available as an IHOP restaurant, open all night. There's a transactional yet flirtatious nature to the exchange, suggesting a mutual give-and-take: "You gimme some of you, I give you some of me."

This central theme is built upon with a cascade of culinary and restaurant-related wordplay. The woman is said to have her own unique "recipe," and the desire for her is so strong it's like an insatiable craving that necessitates going through the "drive-through." The interaction is presented as a personalized order, with the chorus repeatedly urging her to "take my order 'cause your body like a carry out." This phrase encapsulates the core idea: she is a desirable meal to be savored. The act of getting to know her and winning her affection is likened to getting a ticket and waiting in line, emphasizing her high value. Phrases like "super-size" and "have it your way" are cleverly repurposed to describe fulfilling her desires and preferences in a romantic or sexual context.

Justin Timberlake's verse deepens the metaphor, ordering from this metaphorical menu with specific requests like "two number threes" and a "side of me," playfully suggesting a threesome or simply an abundance of affection. The lyrics express a desire for complete immersion and satisfaction, asking if she is "full of myself to want you full of me." The seduction is a process of getting the order right, with no mistakes, and touching her in all the "right areas." The promise is one of mutual satisfaction, where both can feed each other's appetites. The song maintains this playful, confident tone throughout, with the artists insisting they won't leave until closing time. The bridge shifts to asking for her name and number, grounding the flirtatious fantasy in a more direct request for a real connection, all while maintaining the restaurant ordering framework. The recurring plea, "don't you cut me out," serves as a double entendre, asking not to be rejected while also fitting the food-related theme.

"Carry Out" was created for Timbaland's third studio album, Shock Value II, released in 2009. The track is a product of the long-standing and successful collaboration between Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. The creative process was reportedly fluid and organic, typical of their work together. Timbaland first produced the instrumental track with his co-producer Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon. Later, Justin Timberlake heard the beat and, according to Timbaland, composed the lyrics in his head without needing to write them down, a testament to their well-established chemistry. The song was co-written by Timbaland (Timothy Mosley), Justin Timberlake, Jerome Harmon, Timothy "Attitude" Clayton, and Jim Beanz. The recording and mixing took place at No Excuses Studios in Santa Monica, California, with engineers Demacio "Demo" Castellon and Chris Godbey. Timbaland considered "Carry Out" his favorite track on the album, likening its energy to a "2010 'Drop It Like It's Hot'" and praising the magical, indescribable chemistry he shares with Timberlake. The song was released as the third single from the album, serviced to contemporary hit radio in the U.S. on December 1, 2009.

"Carry Out" follows a conventional verse-chorus structure typical of pop and hip-hop music. The rhythm is a moderate, danceable hip-hop groove set in common time with a tempo of approximately 99 beats per minute. Timbaland's production is known for its complex, syncopated rhythms, and this track is no exception, with a bouncing, off-kilter beat that makes it infectious. The lyrical rhythm flows conversationally, especially in Timbaland's verses, which have a spoken-word quality. The rhyme scheme is generally simple and direct, often employing couplets (AABB) to maintain a catchy and easy-to-follow flow. For example, in the first verse: "Baby, you looking fire hot / I have you open all night like you IHOP" and "You gimme some of you, I give you some of me / You look good, baby must taste heavenly." The rhymes are mostly perfect rhymes, contributing to the song's pop accessibility and memorable quality. The interplay between the stuttering, syncopated musical rhythm and the more straightforward lyrical flow is a key element of Timbaland's production style.

Musically, "Carry Out" showcases Timbaland's signature production style. It is built on a syncopated, bouncing hip-hop beat with an electro-funk influence and a Middle Eastern-inspired groove. The production is clean and avoids heavy sampling, a characteristic of Timbaland's work which often blends hip-hop and R&B seamlessly. The arrangement is layered with pinging synth sounds and a distinctive rhythmic complexity that encourages dancing. Vocally, the song features a dynamic interplay between Timbaland's spoken-sung rap verses and Justin Timberlake's smooth delivery. Timberlake utilizes both his seductive lower register and his trademark falsetto, creating a polished R&B feel. Lyrically, the song's main technique is the consistent use of the extended metaphor discussed previously. It's packed with double entendres and puns, turning mundane fast-food terminology into witty, flirtatious pickup lines (e.g., "I gotta drive through," "I ain't leaving 'til they turn over the closed sign"). This wordplay, while criticized by some as un-erotic or cheesy, is the central creative hook of the song.

"Carry Out" was a significant commercial success and a prominent song in the pop and hip-hop landscape of late 2009 and 2010. It served as the third single from Timbaland's star-studded album Shock Value II. The song performed well on the charts, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and spending 26 weeks on the chart. It also reached the top ten in Canada, the UK, and Ireland. The track reinforced the powerful and highly successful creative partnership between Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, who had previously created massive hits like "SexyBack" and "Cry Me a River." The accompanying music video, directed by Bryan Barber, featured a vibrant fast-food theme and further popularized the song. Critical reception was mixed, with some praising the clever metaphor and the duo's chemistry, while others found the lyrics uncreative or cheesy. Despite this, the song remains a memorable track from that era and is often cited as an example of Timbaland's influential production style and his successful run of pop dominance in the late 2000s.

The primary literary device in "Carry Out" is an elaborate extended metaphor that frames sexual pursuit and desire in the context of a fast-food transaction. The woman is symbolized as a delectable meal, and the entire process of courtship is depicted as ordering from a menu.

• The Woman as a Restaurant/Meal: Her body is explicitly compared to a "carry out," something to be ordered and enjoyed. Lines like "I'll have you open all night like you're IHOP" and "you got your own recipe" further this by characterizing her as an enticing establishment and a unique dish.
• Seduction as Ordering: The act of flirtation and making a move is metaphorically represented as placing an order. "Take my order" is the central plea of the chorus. Getting her attention is like "let me get my ticket baby, let me get in line."
• Sexual Acts as Consumption: The lyrics use phrases related to eating and fast food to allude to sexual acts. "Have it your way, foreplay, before I feed your appetite" directly links the Burger King slogan to sexual activity. Terms like "super-size" and wanting a "piece" for dessert are used as sexual innuendos. The entire concept revolves around satisfying a carnal "appetite."

The most significant recurring phrase and central hook of the song is the chorus line, "Take my order 'cause your body like a carry out." This line is repeated multiple times, cementing the song's core metaphor and making it highly memorable. It functions as the thematic anchor, with all lyrical content branching out from this central idea. Another key recurring phrase is, "Turn me on, my baby don't you cut me out." This line serves as a double entendre; on one level, it's a plea for the woman not to reject him, while on another, it cleverly fits the food/ordering motif (as in, don't cut him from the order or service). The questions "What's your name? What's your number?" also recur in the song's outro, acting as a lyrical motif that transitions the playful, metaphorical flirtation into a more direct and concrete request for contact. Musically, the song is built around a recurring syncopated synth beat and bassline, a signature of Timbaland's production that serves as an instantly recognizable motif throughout the track.