Music Review: The 1975 "Girls"

The 1975

Girls

Album: The 1975

Year: 2013

          At any age, Matt Healy doesn’t get girls in the jubilant  “Girls.”

         A sprightly guitar opens the single, setting a winsome tone.   She presses herself against him. His little brother is in the next room playing video games. At any second, he could pop in, asking for something. His parents told him to not have anyone over. It only made him want to invite his current girl over more. (“Bite your face to spite your nose/17 and a half years old/I'm worrying about my brother finding out/What’s the fun in doing what you're told?”)

           In the pre-chorus, after they’ve had sex several times, she begins expecting a real relationship. He tells her they had this conversation before and she agreed. However, she says she one night with her and he won’t ever want to leave. He tells her he has no need to be the knight in shining in armor type. It frustrates him but he might give into her. (“I said "No!"/Oh give it a rest, I could persuade you/I'm not your typical, stoned 18 year old/Give me a night I'll make you'/"I know you're looking for salvation in the secular age, but girl I'm not your savior"/Wrestle to the ground/God help me now because.”)

            In the chorus, he says girls have a hold over him. It’s not going to work out regardless. He’s looking for something physical. The emotional aspect is irrelevant to him. (“They're just girls breaking hearts/Eyes bright, uptight, just girls/But she can't be what you need if she's 17.They're just girls/They're just girls.”)

                She wraps herself in her jacket. But he takes her hand in his anyway. It started off as a relationship based on sex. Then, she moved into his home. She’s asking him about remodeling the family room and going to Home Depot later to look at color schemes. He wonders when the relationship became serious. (“A pair of frozen hands to hold/Oh she's so southern so she feels the cold,/One moment I was tearing off your blouse/Now you're living in my house/What happened to just messing around?”)

        In the pre-chorus, he says he’s had enough. She tells him he doesn’t do anything all day except smoke weed and believes he has the best life ever. He shouts back that maybe she should be with someone more mature then. He slams the door on his way out. (“I said "Yo, I think I better go. I can't take you.You just sit and get stoned with 30 year olds and you think you've made it"/'Well, shouldn't you be fucking with somebody your age instead of making changes?'/Wrestle to the ground/God help me now because.”)

           The chorus is sung again.

           In the bridge, he says he warned that he wasn’t easy to be with. He would hurt her and that he’s not the boyfriend type. (“I told her from the start/Destined to be hard/I told her from the start/I’ll break your heart/Destined to be hard/Break your heart.”)

            The second pre-chorus is sung again.

            The chorus is sung again.

              At the end, he realizes it’s a part of hooking up. (“Because they're just girls.”)

           Healy’s whipped vocals complain and pick fights. Sometimes he really wants to scream. However, one look from his girlfriend and he will do anything. He ends falling in love in spite of himself.

              The  bewitching “Girls” flat out loves being a cheery pop song.