Carly R J came third in the fifth season of Canadian Idol. After being part of the Canadian IdolTop 3 concert tour, Jepsen retreated to her home state to focus on writing and recording. After pop singers Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez tweeted about the song, Jepsen gained international attention and was signed to Schoolboy Records. Justin Bieber tweeted: "'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen is possibly the catchiest song I've ever heard lol," and his girlfriend Selena Gomez added, "This smile is because of Carly Rae Jepsen. We have not stopped listening to your song girl!". Just casual chat, but it made all the difference for Carly.

Watch a Sesame Street parody of this song: Share it maybe.

And a hilarious surprise version for chatroulette: Call Me Maybe.

I threw a wish in the well
Don't ask me, I'll never tell
I looked to you as it fell
And now you're in my way

I trade my soul for a wish
Pennies and dimes for a kiss,
I wasn't looking for this
But now you're in my way

Your stare was holding
Ripped jeans, skin was showin'
Hot night, wind was blowin'
Where you think you're going, baby?

Hey, I just met you and this is crazy,
But here's my number so call me, maybe?
It's hard to look right at you baby,
But here's my number so call me, maybe?

Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy,
But here's my number, so call me, maybe?
And all the other boys try to chase me,
But here's my number so call me, maybe?

You took your time with the call
I took no time with the fall
You gave me nothing at all,
But still you're in my way

I beg and borrow and steal
Have foresight and it's real
I didn't know I would feel it,
But it's in my way

Your stare was holding
Ripped jeans, skin was showin'
Hot night, wind was blowin'
Where you think you're going, baby?

Hey I just met you and this is crazy
But here's my number so call me maybe
It's hard to look right at you baby,
But here's my number so call me maybe

Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy
But here's my number so call me maybe
And all the other boys try to chase me,
But here's my number so call me maybe

Before you came into my life I missed you so bad
I missed you so bad, I missed you so, so bad
Before you came into my life I missed you so bad
And you should know that I missed you so, so bad
 
It's hard to look right at you baby,
But here's my number so call me, maybe
Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy,
But here's my number so call me maybe
And all the other boys try to chase me,
But here's my number so call me maybe
 
Before you came into my life I missed you so bad
I missed you so bad, I missed you so so bad
Before you came into my life I missed you so bad
And you should know that
So call me maybe

I THREW A WISH IN THE WELL= A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the idea that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods, since water was a source of life and often a scarce commodity. Of course, we’re not talking about the adverb “well” (as in: You dance well) but the noun “a well” (see picture).
But Carly talks about “throwing a wish in the well”, not speaking it aloud. Being herself far from European lands and medieval times, she may be easily forgiven for her mistake. She’s obviously mixing the superstition of the wishing well with the other more modern superstition of throwing a coin to any water place to make a wish (as people still do in the Fontana di Trevi)

DON’T ASK ME= Traditionally, when you make a wish (when you see a shooting star, or when you blow the candles of your birthday cake or when you throw a coin into the water) you can’t tell anybody what you wished for. If you tell, the wish will never come true, so the superstition goes. Actually, chances for it to come true are equally low whether you say it or not, but if you’re going to be superstitious, at least be properly superstitious and keep it a secret.

I LOOKED TO YOU= The verb "look" uses the preposition "at" (I looked at you). We say "look to" when we look for guidance (We all look to certain people to help us in life). But in this case, "to" is simply the short form of "towards", expressing direction (I looked to you = I looked towards you, in your direction).

AS IT FELL= While it was falling.

YOU’RE IN MY WAY= I met you, you came into my life, you’re here.
Here, “my way” refers to “my life”, seen as a way we travel from the cradle to the grave. If you're in my way, our paths have crossed, life has brought us together.
But there's also a negative meaning for this expression: “you’re in my way” can also express the idea that you are in the middle of my way, so you are bothering me, you stop me from continuing my way, you must move away so I can continue forwards (not the case here, obviously).

TRADE= Exchange. I give you A and you give me B.

PENNIES= In colloquial American English a penny is a cent, and the plural is pennies. In standard British English a penny is a real coin and the plural is “pence”, 100 pence make one pound (but today we usually say “p” for both, so we say 1p. and 25p., pronounced “pee”, like the letter of the alphabet)

DIMES= In AmE a dime is a coin worth 10 cents. (see picture)

I WASN’T LOOKING FOR THIS= This was unexpected (but I’m glad it happened).
She said that she wanted to trade her soul for a wish, and now we know what her wish for: “pennies and dimes for a kiss”, she threw some pennies and dimes into the wishing well and wished for a kiss, and now, here he is, although she wasn’t really expecting her wish to come true.
Well, maybe she’s the queen of wishful thinking anyway, since the boy is there alright, but nobody said that he's going to kiss her.

STARE= /steə*/ To stare is to look intensely, without blinking. A stare is a look like that. If you hold your stare, you continue staring, without looking away. So when she says “you’re stare was holding” she suggests that he looked at her for a long time, or what seemed to her a long time (if you hold your stare, you keep staring for some time, without looking away).

RIPPED JEANS= Jeans that are broken in some parts, as if worn out, but not really, because the rips are factory-made and they make the trousers to be more expensive. (see picture).

SKIN WAS SHOWING= People could see the skin of his legs showing through the rips of his jeans.

WHERE YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?= (it should be: “where do you think…”). This question is often used meaning: Don’t move!
This question, used in this sense, can only be used by someone in authority, someone who can actually force that person to stay. In this song, when she says this question she really means: hey boy, don’t go away, you have to stay here with me (whether you like it or not). Again, wishful thinking.

I JUST MET YOU= I met you only a moment ago.

MY NUMBER= My telephone number.
RIGHT= If you look right at something, you look straight into it, directly, without hesitation, openly.

CALL ME, MAYBE?= Maybe you can call me, if you want.

CHASE= To chase is to go after something trying to get it. For example, cats chase mice and lions chase gazelles because they want to eat them. Boys chase girls because they want to kiss them or whatever.

YOU TOOK YOUR TIME WITH THE CALL= You didn’t call me soon, a long time passed before you called me (or you never called me at all -which is what happened in this case).

THE FALL= The act of falling in love.

FORESIGHT= The ability of knowing the future consequences of a present event.

SO BAD= Very much.
We use “so bad” with the meaning of “very much” with some verbs, usually verbs expressing a strong emotion related with love:
- I love you so bad = I love you very much
- I need you so bad = I need you very much
- I miss you so bad = I miss you very much

The song alludes to the inconvenience that a love at first sight brings to a girl who hopes for a call back from a crush (and there's no reason to think she'll ever get that call).

And this is a psychological approach to the lyrics:

This song seems to tell us about a girl's smart attempt to approach a boy to whom her heart is falling. I said the attempt is smart since it doesn't show aggresiveness nor submission. She doesn't ask him his number and then sends him messages to show her admiration (aggresive). But she also doesn't keep silent and do nothing (submission). What he does is simply giving him her number. Simple as it may seem. But the effect is great. By doing this she will be able to know whether the boy responds positively to her feeling or not without embarassing herself.