I'll Be That Girl Lyrics
And I wish that I were you
All the things I'd do
To make myself turn blue
I'd start by removing all my clothes
Tie my pantyhose
Around my neck
And you would be right over
If I were the sun, you would be in shadow
And if I had a gun, there'd be no tomorrow
Perhaps as someone else
Perhaps as you
I’ll be worth noticing
The magic of a kiss
From such is me
And you would be right over
If I were the sun, you would be in shadow
If I had a gun, there'd be no tomorrow
Learn how to choose sadness
It's time to throw off those chains
Addle our brains with madness
To grow old and die
But when at last your beauty’s faded
You'll be glad that I have waited for you
With being beautiful and young
When that course is run
Then come to me
You would be right over
If I were the sun, you would be in shadow
If I had a gun, there'd be no tomorrow
There'd be no tomorrow
There'd be no tomorrow
There'd be no tomorrow
There'd be no tomorrow
I love this song so much! In my opinion it's basically about being in love with someone that doesn't think you're good enough ("I'll be that girl/And you would be right over"). Full of a very sharp irony. I love it.
I've always gone with the "self-absorbed girl" theory, but I came across a quote in which Steven Page says it's about autoerotic asphyziation. I was kinda traumatized, but it does make sense: "...to make myself turn blue," "tie my pantyhose around my neck..."
not for sure but if feels like this song is about someone willing to change anything at all to be with the one that they can't have.
I've got a good idea this song is about a guy who falls in love with a girl who happens to be a straight forward lesbian (sort of like Ross' girlfriend in 'Friends' in the early episodes), who has a girlfriend. He's sort of saying well you don't like guys, you like girls, I love you so much, so i'll be that girl. It's a joking sort of song but say a lot about the madness of being in love, like he'd have a sex change! lol The lyric 'If you will not have me as myself Perhaps as someone else' says it all
While I like JC's idea, I think it's actually about a woman who won't have him because she's madly in love with herself. "That girl" is the woman he's singing it to, who's beautiful, young, and perfect. He wants to be this woman, because only then would she notice him/her. He's saying she'll be running to him when her looks are gone. It's partly a love song, partly a f*ck-you; when he speaks of tying pantyhose around his neck, he's telling her to go hang herself, and the chorus speaks for itself.
I can tell very clearly that this song is about a gay man who is not open about his sexual orientation, and is experiencing deep feelings for a male friend of his. The problem is, the friend doesn't know he's gay, and he has a girlfriend. There are many references to suicide in this song, eg. "If I had a gun, there'd be no tommorow", "To make myself turn blue...Tie my pantyhose...Around my neck". I think that the man becomes exremely depressed because he doesn't want to risk losing a friend by telling him that he's gay, but he also can't live without him, so he contemplates killing himself. This is one of my favourite BNL songs.
I love this song, especially the imagery in the chorus which starts out pleasant and gets very dark...
I also found an interview with BNL in which they said the song was written about autoerotic asphyxiation. It makes sense when you listen to it in that context. I have to admit that when I first listened to it I also subscribed to the lesbian theory, and I think I still like that reading better... The gay man thing is interesting too... But that's the great thing about songs, isn't it? That they can mean something different to each person who listens.
I love these lyrics. As with most great songs, it can be freely interpreted by the listener based on his or her own experience. I also like the dark/happy contrast, kind of like Synchronicity by The Police.
Here's my take:
It's about a guy with extremely low self-esteem and some obsession issues with a girl. He fantasizes about being her for a few reasons:
a) Because as her, he would be willing to do just about anything to pander to his (now third-person) narcissistic fragility. b) Because as her, he could finally embody the object of his worship and... c) ...willingly enslave that object to his every whim; this would shield him from his self-loathing.
There are also some S&M, suicidal, and violent references that are in line with that type of personality. They contrast very well with the cheery, upbeat mood of the song.
In the bridge, I think the narrator is attempting to quit fantasizing and embrace his real-life situation for what it is (embrace the sadness, the madness).
As for the chorus, it's somewhat mysterious. The field/clover thing is in line with the verses (acting as his object of affection, anything would be offered to satisfy his first persona). "If I were the sun, you would be in shadow" is unclear and could go either way, maybe it's about the idolization of the girl and thus the first subject (the guy) would be the opposite of that; it's almost like a narcissist / inverted narcissist. The gun reference seems to be about suicide, but maybe also homicide or both.
I hope I didn't just recap what was already said!
To me the chorus is relatively simple and doesn't require a deep analysis; clover is the least desirable part of a field, if he was the sun he would never shine on her, and the last line, well if we all had guns it wouldn't be good would it...
To me the chorus is relatively simple and doesn't require a deep analysis; clover is the least desirable part of a field, if he was the sun he would never shine on her, and the last line, well if we all had guns it wouldn't be good would it...
possible interpretation could be regarding the resilience of a current relationship with regards to time and the admiration for another. beauty was the start of it but will also be the demise. the girl is willing to wait for the guy but not to her peril. intelligent: the whole song is about her insight including knowing when enough is enough. she in her heart knows he will never come around in time so her fantasies are dotted throughout the whole song. the first verse, the girl admires the dude so much she wishes she was him (she's in love, right?). they are so happy all the time that she wishes either one of them can be blue (as in sad, not maddy nears - also referenced in the later drive home sequence 'kick off shoes and choose sadness') perhaps as a moment to reflect and appreciate what they have.
this song came out before columbine so the 'no tomorrow by gun' wanted to drive home the weight of emotion by conjuring the unthinkable as a way to say that this moment is so perfect that you can throw all the others away (yes I stole that from log 'laid to rest'). the chorus gives line of sight to the current status of the relationship as stated by the narrator in the inverse. a relationship so invigorating it challenges all avenues of though but not reason. what good is a field without life? (this is the narrator's though) a repreive from the sun could also be described as darkness among light. in either case it is a relationship whose intricacies are described by the open endedness of the stanza.
'when the (youth and beauty) party's over' (yeah, that's shakira "underneath your clothes' was around this time and honestly the 'start be removing all my clothes' line forever connects the two songs) she will love him for nonsuperficial reasons. this also alludes to the whole richness and poor, sickness and health thing reinforced by 'grow old and die'. her doubts by reiterating thought the song, there will be no tomorrow expresses her serious doubts about this relationship lasting. while not perfect, it will have always been beautiful for her and will ultimately be remembered by him.
in a perfect world where the dude was more mature, he would have made no hesitation to come to her. in reality, by the time he will come to that conclusion, (this is brutal) the guy simply will not be hot enough nor maintain his youthful exuberance for the girl so end over end it is no harm no foul but nonetheless sad. what will sour memories of him will be just how much he let her down not through malice but ignorance. this is also a reason why 'there will be no tomorrow' is pervasive throughout the song. a chorus in an uplifting major key among minor keyed verses. a tragedy. straight up bnl.
not to be rude, but the problem with the first three analysi is that they assume the flat out meanings and silly lyrics of some of the rest of the stunt cd , but i think anadine pretty much hit it on the mark... i think its pretty much a girl who he is fascinated with that doesnt even know hes there, not because shes ignorant, because she couldnt care less because he doesnt present the face value worth she is ooking for in her naive youth, and that pisses him off but he still cant help want her to know him....just a thought...i like the song because its meaning could be interpretted in so many slightly varying ways... means what it means to you