Girls by Girl In Red Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Layers of Queer Identity and Desire
Lyrics
These feelings, they’re not gone
Can I tell anyone?
Afraid of what they’ll say
So I push them away
I’m acting so strange
They’re so pretty, it hurts
I’m not talking ’bout boys, I’m talking ’bout girls
They’re so pretty with their button-up shirts
I shouldn’t be feeling this
But it’s too hard to resist
Soft skin, and soft lips
I should be into this guy
But it’s just a waste of time
He’s really not my type
I know what I like
No, this is not a phase
Or a coming of age
This will never change
They’re so pretty, it hurts
I’m not talking ’bout boys, I’m talking ’bout girls
They’re so pretty with their button-up shirts
They’re so pretty, it hurts
I’m not talking ’bout boys, I’m talking ’bout girls
They’re so pretty with their button-up shirts
‘Cause I don’t know what to do
It’s not like I get to choose who I love
Who I love
Who I love
Who I love
They’re so pretty, it hurts
I’m not talking ’bout boys, I’m talking ’bout girls
They’re so pretty with their button-up shirts
And they’re so pretty, it hurts
I’m not talking ’bout boys, I’m talking ’bout girls
They’re so pretty, it hurts
In the landscape of music where secrets and emotions collide to form anthems, Girl In Red’s ‘Girls’ resonates as a raw elucidation of burgeoning queer identity. The song, a melodic confessional, embraces the tumultuous journey of self-acceptance and the inherent beauty in that struggle.
Girl In Red, or Marie Ulven Ringheim, with her honest lyricism wrapped in indie pop sensibilities, taps into a universal pulse of youthful self-discovery and unapologetic truth. In ‘Girls’, every line serves as both question and answer to the mysteries of personal identity and desire.
The Struggle of Concealed Love
Through ‘Girls,’ Girl In Red poignantly captures the essence of concealed affection. ‘I’ve been hiding for so long,’ she begins, encapsulating the internal strife faced when one’s feelings clash with societal expectations.
The sentiment is painfully familiar to many grappling with their sexuality—where self-censorship is often the initial reaction for survival. This particular strain of hiding is all too common in a world where heteronormativity often presides.
Demystifying Queer Yearning
Amid the carefully woven lyrics, Girl In Red dispenses a thought-provoking play on expectations: ‘They’re so pretty, it hurts / I’m not talking ’bout boys, I’m talking ’bout girls.’ This revelation is less a defiance than a gentle correction, steering the listener toward the true focus of her yearning.
The simplicity and repetition of these lines underscore an unspoken truth: that same-sex attraction is an innocent and natural occurrence, though it’s still often treated with unnecessary complexity and stigma.
Button-up Shirts and The Power of Symbolism
The repetition of ‘with their button-up shirts’ carries heavy symbolism, often suggesting a sense of structured formality that Girl In Red contrasts against the natural fluidity of her desires. In these literal terms, the button-up shirt is a metaphor for the societal constraints placed on gender and sexuality, which she sees transcended by the girls’ sheer beauty.
Additionally, the motif of ‘button-up shirts’ harkens to androgyny and the breaking of gender norms—celebrating the diversity in how women, including those who she admires, choose to present themselves.
The Heart’s Rebellion Against Choice
The lyrics ‘It’s not like I get to choose who I love’ strike at the core of Girl In Red’s sentiment. Rather than a willful transgression, the song highlights love’s innate anarchism. She portrays her emotions as both involuntary and pure, an embodied truth that cannot be refuted nor selected like items on a shelf.
By confronting this misconception of choice, Girl In Red legitimizes queer love as something that is as natural as it is uncontrollable—integral to her very being and beyond the realm of preference or decision.
A Distinctive Rallying Cry
Often, the most memorable lines of a song are those that resonate on a frequency of universal human experience. ‘No, this is not a phase / Or a coming of age / This will never change,’ Girl In Red affirms, challenging the dismissive notion that same-sex attraction is transient or a mere rite of passage into heteronormativity.
Her words act as both shield and spear—protecting the validity of her experience while piercing through the prejudices that often seek to undermine it. ‘Girls’ serves not just as a personal anthem for the artist, but a source of strength and validation for listeners navigating similar paths.
