The guitar uses open D tuning (low to high): D-A-D-F♯-A-D.[2]
Caillat commented on the lyrical composition of the song in an interview with Wilson Country News on 20 February 2008, following her live performance on The View, "I didn't write "Bubbly" for any [special] guy. I wrote it about the feelings you get when you have a crush on somebody, and when they give you butterflies in your stomach and they just make you smile