Music Review: Carrie Underwood "All-American Girl"

Carrie Underwood

All-American Girl

Album: Carnival Ride

Year: 2008

       Carrie Underwood follows a family over three generations in the cozy “All-American Girl.”

      A welcoming guitar opens the single, setting a settled tone.  He reaches for his wife’s hand and smoothes back her sweaty hair, He and his wife didn’t want to know the sex of their baby. They figured every small part of information is available nowadays. It will make their first moment together as a family special. As she pushes, he hopes for a boy. Little Jack will join his grandpa, uncle and dad on their annual fishing trips.  Jack will later be on the varsity football team. He and his wife will cheer him on to catch the game winning pass. With both his intellect and athletic skill, he will be the key to his team’s success, leading them to a state championship. Elite universities will be flooding them with calls for scholarships and a place on the team. The doctor announces the head is coming out and soon, they will be proud parents. The sound of a baby’s cry enters in the room. He squeezes his wife’s hand, both excited and scared. After cleaning the baby off, the nurse announces to them that it’s a girl and hands the baby to him. As he holds the little Grace in his arms, he can’t stop staring at her. (“ Since the day they got married/He'd been praying for a little baby boy/Someone he could take fishing/Throw the football and be his pride and joy/He could already see him holding that trophy/Taking his team to state/But when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket/All those big dreams changed.”)

             In the chorus, she’s Daddy’s little girl already. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do to protect her or give her to make her happy. She’s his. (“And now, he's wrapped around her finger/She's the center of his whole world/And his heart belongs to that sweet, little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect/All American girl.”)

              At sixteen, Grace stands at the top of the pyramid. She shouts “Go Tigers.” She smiles at her mom and dad, clapping and whistling in the crowd. Once she reaches the pavement, she searches for her boyfriend, the star quarterback, on the field and waves to him. They have been dating since last summer. Her parents like him (although her dad did grill him about college and what his future plans in life are, which she thought was a bit too much.) The coach gives her a dirty look and for a quick second, she thinks of flipping him off. However, her parents raised her to take the high road.  The coach has been pressuring him to break up with her, blaming her for his lack of focus.  However, the stress of the scouts watching him, keeping his grades up and try to choose which college would be best is what worries. Football is no longer an escape for him. It’s now a job. Spending time with her keeps him sane and if he skips a practice or two, it doesn’t matter.  In five years, he could play a pickup football game with his friends. However, he may not meet another girl like Grace ever again. (“Sixteen short years later/She was falling for the senior football star/Before you knew it he was dropping passes/Skipping practice just to spend more time with her/The coach said, hey son what's your problem/Tell me have you lost your mind/Daddy said you'll lose your free ride to college/Boy, you better tell her goodbye.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

             In the bridge, Grace touches her stomach and her husband, the former varsity quarterback for the Tigers and now accountant, puts his hand on hers. She asks him if he’s looking forward to having a boy or a girl. He stands up and looks into her eyes, saying he’s wishing for a little girl as loving and intelligent as her. (“And when they got married and decided to have one of their own/She said, be honest, tell me what you want/And he said, honey you oughta  know/A sweet, little, beautiful one just like you/I want a beautiful, wonderful, perfect All American.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

             Underwood sings “All-American girl” one more time to end the single.

             Underwood’s precise, dramatized vocals narrate the story, using a specific inflection for each of the characters. For the new father, she’s hopeful but for the football coach, she becomes overbearing and finally, for the couples’ conversation, she’s tender.  

               The kindred “All-American Girl” celebrates women as well as the joy of building a family.