October 07: The Word Girl

This week I am experiencing a certain fixation with the word "girl". Such a nice word. Perhaps the best in the world? It surely does look good on many occasions and in many various situations. It sounds swell and rhymes with a lot of things, even other girls. And yet I haven't thought about or - shall we say - mentioned what it means. Girl. Girl, girl, girl. What does it mean? I dare not discuss in public.

I'll keep it between me and the girls. What I do know is how girl often forces a writer of pop songs to put "world" in the next sentence. This is of course because the vocal sound of girl is much similar to that of world. Slightly similar, but only slightly. Sonically, "Twirl" would be a better match, if only its meaning would fit better with the loose and coincidental message that the lyricist is attempting to create. "Earle" would also be better, but then again that would mean you would have to explain the relation between this Earle guy and the girl. A hard task, especially if their relation is a non-excisting one. All of which leaves the story of Earle totally redundant in this pop-lyric example.

You see, I don't think the average writer of lyrics has a very specific perspective on what the lyric should be. In other and crueler words; he or she is very much open to the help of words such as girl and world. And they can be very charming. They can be paired with a relieving list of rhyming words that'll get you safely to the next chorus, fast. Words that are not too special or distinct (as opposed to words like effervescence, Compact Disc, refrigerator and peccability) to fit in almost any lyrical context, whether the pen belongs to Steve Earle, Burt Bacharach or DJ Bobo (90s Euro Disco man with shiny long hair and crucial lack of good pens).

I know this, and I think of this because I myself have felt how certain words, on dry nights, can lead you into temptation. Sitting in your sofa with your sharpest pen in your hand, one second you could be writing uncompromising about how she was an eccentric girl. In desperation for a rhyme, some reason and a shot at FM radio, the next second you may find yourself in temptation to dedicate the next sentence to the word world. (Or you could be just plain lucky; maybe world really was the word you were looking for, honestly. No, really.)

I am not sure if I have rhymed girl with world in one of my songs. I must have. Correct me if I am wrong. But if so, I am not ashamed of it. I do approve of every rhyme I make, and I love them for who they are and what I made them to be. But I too have sensed the powers of girl and a whole bunch of other words that come along once you're in the trap. And so I ask myself: which is the problem? Girl or world?

In cases of hurry girl could get you far, but in retrospect you might regret.

Sondre Lerche


PS! To you who asked: I am reading a book called "Reelin' In The Years" about Steely Dan. It's very entertaining. I am making huge leaps forward in the book department. I have soon read 200 pages without looking back or forth. I've got to tell you that I am also listening a lot to the new Elvis Costello record, and I think it's very pretty. Track 2 especially. Have a fine day!