It was written by Steve Kipner, Andrew Frampton, Wayne Wilkins and Bedingfield for her 2004 debut album, Unwritten.

"These Words" details Bedingfield's lack of inspiration and her reaction to pressure from her record label to produce a hit song.

[2] She was determined not to be shaped into "some music biz pigeonhole" and wanted to write songs that were "organic, different and real".

PlayLouder's Daniel Robson described the song as a "compelling chunk of popply joy",[4] while AllMusic wrote that the track was "near-perfect" and merged "the rhythms and flavors of hip-hop and R&B with unique melodies and Bedingfield's vocal confidence".

[5] The BBC called it a "classic love song" with a "really catchy tune", and commented that it was worthy of reaching number one on the UK singles chart.

[6] Josh Timmermann of Stylus Magazine called it "best single so far this year",[7] and David Welsh of musicOMH.com wrote that the song had a "virally-infectious chorus and (relatively) clever wordplay.

The song's international music video was directed by Scott Lyon and Sophie Muller and premiered in July 2004.

It opens with Bedingfield sitting at a table in her Spanish villa, in Málaga, frustrated by her inability to find inspiration to write a song.

The North American music video was directed by Chris Milk and filmed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in March 2005.

The video concludes with Bedingfield arriving back home to a house full of dancing boomboxes in the bedroom.

[23] The boomboxes featured in the video are animated to look like drawings and a performance by Bedingfield in a room with flowing white drapery has been added.