Ted's Song of the Week - 6/21/05

Girl
Beck
Guero

Wow! This song gets my vote for song of the summer. I was listening to the album on a Sunday morning, not paying much attention so much as filling in the empty void of working in a movie theater at 8 AM. Anyways, I was stopped in my tracks as "Girl" started playing. With an opening comprised of keyboards your kid brother could play, it unexpectedly broke into a flurry of acoustic guitar, clapping hands, and opulent harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys.
The most interesting thing about this song is that, in true Beck fashion, it suggests one thing while offering another. The song's tone innocently paints a picture of a man's pining for some girl at the beach, while the lyrics are a bit disturbing in that stalker/abducter sense. Of course, this is merely my interpretation of the song, but lyrics like "I'm gonna make her die", "hands tied back", and "nothing that i wouldn't try" seem to suggest something deeper than a summer crush.
Love song or not, this is a great song to blast in the car with the windows down. Give it a listen and become a Beck fan.

Lyrics:

I saw her, yeah I saw her with her black tongue tied
Round the roses
Fist pounding on a vending machine
Toy diamond ring stuck on her finger
With a noose she can hang from the sun
And put it out with her dark sunglasses
Walking crooked down the beach
She spits on the sand where their bones are bleaching
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
She doesn't even know what's wrong
And I know I'm gonna make her die
Take her where her soul belongs
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
Nothing that I wouldn't try

My..... girl
My..... girl

I saw her, yeah I saw her with her hands tied back
And her rags were burning
Crawling out from a landfilled life
Scrawlin her name upon the ceiling
Throw a coin in a fountain of dust
White noise, her ears are ringing
Got a ticket for a midnight hanging
Throw a bullet from a freight train leaving
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
She doesn't even know what's wrong
And I know I'm gonna make her die
Take her where her soul belongs
And I know I'm gonna steal her eye
Nothing that I would not try

My..... girl