ִֶָ@safelanie
Melanie Martinez - Where Do Babies Come From? (2014)
"Where Do Babies Come From?" is an unreleased song by Melanie Martinez. It was intended to be featured as a bonus track on her debut studio album, Cry Baby, however, it was later scrapped.
The full song was leaked on October 10, 2020.
On July 6, 2014, Melanie posted a tweet saying she was "listening to all the new songs [she had] written that year", mentioning it would be hard to pick tracks for her album. That same day, she posted two 15-second snippets of "Where Do Babies Come From?" on Instagram in an effort to gauge fan interest in its inclusion on the album. Although fan feedback for the song was largely positive, it ultimately did not make the final tracklist.
On June 1, 2015, Melanie confirmed during a Periscope livestream that the song would not be featured on the album. On July 26, 2015, Melanie's father, Jose Martinez, posted an additional 15-second clip of the song on his own Instagram account. He had previously stated in April 2015 that the track would not be included on the album, but described it as "a great song".
On July 27, 2015, during a Q&A on Tumblr, Melanie responded to a fan's question regarding the future of the song, stating:
"it's not being released i'm sorry. a lot of songs were cut from the album. maybe in the future there will be a purpose for that song but for right now it's staying off the internet."
During an interview with The Knockturnal in August 2015, Melanie was asked again about the song:
Interviewer: Is there anything you had to cut from the album? Like fans were wondering about "Where Do Babies Come From?"
Melanie Martinez: "Yeah I mean there are a lot of songs that I wrote for the album that got cut just because I can’t put 30 songs on the album. Hahah that would be amazing and I wish I could. Yeah I don’t know, I definitely want to eventually put out the songs I wrote for this album, maybe for another project if it fits but “Where Do Babies Come From?” is one that I was going to put as a bonus track on the album but then I kept writing and it just didn’t work out. Maybe in the future I can put it out for fans or something. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens there."
The song talks about teenage pregnancy and its consequences, telling the story of an eighteen-year-old girl expecting a child. The father abandons her, unwilling to take responsibility, leaving her to raise the child alone. She relies on her mother to help her through pregnancy. As she gives birth, her "greatest fears" are realized when the newborn resembles the absent father.
The song switches between point-of-view. As the child grows up, she begins to ask her mother where babies come from, expecting a "magical" or idealized explanation. In contrast, her mother offers a blunt response, informed by her own difficult experience: babies come from "girls who grow up too fast" and boys who don't do anything. The child internalizes this harsh truth and repeats her mother's words as she matures.
This narrative may symbolize the broader issue of teenage pregnancy in modern society, where many young individuals become parents before they are emotionally or financially prepared. It also reflects the recurring pattern in which young fathers often avoid taking responsibility, leaving the mothers to raise the children on their own. Melanie has stated that the song is very personal to her.
