Girl I Met On The Internet

Album: not on an album (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about the excitement - and pitfalls - that come from meeting someone online as it moves toward a real-life relationship. The London-based singer Girli said in an interview with NME: "One of my best friends at the time was using Tinder a lot and she would message me every day being like, 'Oh my god, I met this other guy on Tinder, he's so cute.' It was kind of endearing, but also it had a sort of melancholy aspect to it, that you could see a picture on the internet and create this idea of someone you could fall in love with. And that idea of internet love always fascinated me.

    When I'm on Instagram, I see people and I'm like, 'Oh, they're so hot,' and you kind of create a character - it's not actually the real person. You know, it's like Catfish: you meet someone in real life and it's like, 'You're not who you are on Instagram.' So, there was that idea, which in a way was quite a novelty idea.

    Some people hear 'Girl I Met On The Internet' and it's too pop for them. But I think a lot of people are also swayed over to it because it's something people can relate to."
  • In the chorus, Girli sings:

    I want someone I can call at 2 a.m.
    When I've got that restless feeling again


    She told NME: "The chorus is this idea of the desperation that you have to fall in love and meet someone and it just makes everything better. Seeing friends and relationships and being like, 'Oh, I want that because then I won't worry about this and that and that,' which actually isn't true - you still have all the same worries and fears. But I liked that kind of naivety of thinking that maybe if I meet someone, the right person, then I'll be fine."
  • Girli wrote this song with her producer, Olly Burden (aka, Killer B). "We were talking about how we really loved pop," she said. "We were listening to Taylor Swift a lot, which was funny because I feel like this is probably the poppiest song I've come out with. I'm not ashamed of that at all, I kind of remember thinking well, let's make it really cute and poppy because then actually the undertones of it are kind of sad. And there's the bridge; I remember just listening to 'Wildest Dreams' with Taylor Swift, the way the chorus just goes into the bridge like that and the chord progression. I was like, 'That's sick, like that is so pop.' And then we were like: 'Yeah, let's do it.'"
  • For the video, Girli threw a party and invited a bunch of girls she met on the internet: she made a Facebook event. A lot of people were wasted when they shot footage, but Girli made sure to stay sober.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.

Graham Nash

Graham NashSongwriter Interviews

Graham Nash tells the stories behind some of his famous songs and photos, and is asked about "yacht rock" for the first time.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?