http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/05/35/music-stacy.php
‘This Is Bananas’
A probing analysis of Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’
by GREG STACY
Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” is one of the most baffling pieces of music of the modern age. It’s got something to do with cheerleaders—that much is clear, judging from the chanting and the marching band that’s honking and tooting in the background. Beyond that, good luck deciphering the song’s ambiguities. We were so vexed by the mystery that is “Hollaback Girl” that we have devoted countless hours to its study. Our conclusions are below. The first thing you should know, though, is that Gwen is not singing “I ain’t no Harlem fat girl”—at least, we don’t think she is.
Uh huh, this my
Gwen is introducing us to her .
All the girls stomp your feet like this
This talk of and stomping has nothing to do with actually stepping on feces. But what does it mean? From a reading of the later text, we can conclude that the song takes place in the world of high school athletics, and that Gwen is apparently leading the girls in a calisthenics exercise. The “ ,” we surmise, is what she calls the exercises she’s teaching the other girls.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Here, Gwen exhorts the girls to try harder as they jog around the track, reminding them that physical fitness is “not just gonna happen,” but must be worked at.
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
These lines are the most confusing, but their meaning will become clearer later.
Oooh, this my , this my
Gwen repeats this four more times. She wants to make sure that we are well acquainted with her .
I heard that you were talking
And you didn’t think that I would hear it
Gwen has been the victim of some slanderous high school gossip, and she doesn’t appreciate it. Gwen is 35 years old sliding into MILF status at this point, but we’ll grant her some poetic license.
People hear you talking like that, getting everybody fired up
So I’m ready to attack, gonna lead the pack
Gwen is going to round up a “posse” of her girlfriends and retaliate against the person who’s been talking “smack” about her.
Gonna get a touchdown, gonna take you out
Gwen is going to beat up the person who wronged her, after she completes the cheerleading routine that will inspire the football team to score a touchdown. Gwen has interesting priorities.
That’s right, put your pom-poms down, getting everybody fired up
It seems the entire cheerleading squad is going to beat up the person who spoke ill of Gwen; they have put down their pom-poms, and they are now “fired up” to exact swift and terrible vengeance on Gwen’s behalf.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Gwen is apparently the captain of the cheerleader squad; she is the girl who “hollas” the chants, not one of the girls who simply “hollas” them back. Given that the squad is preparing to beat somebody up on Gwen’s behalf, she’s picked a strange time to remind them that she is their leader and they are her sheep-like followers. Gwen obviously rules her squad with an iron fist.
Oooh, this my , this my [repeated four times]
Again with the .
So that’s right dude, meet me at the bleachers
No principals, no student-teachers
Both of us want to be the winner, but there can only be one
So I’m gonna fight, gonna give it my all
We learn that it was a “dude” who gossiped about Gwen. She challenges him to a fight at the bleachers. If he imagines it will be a fair, one-on-one fight, he is sadly mistaken. Gwen and her aforementioned “pack” will pounce on him like rabid wolves.
Gonna make you fall, gonna sock it to you
That’s right, I’m the last one standing, another one bites the dust
Gwen’s pack of furious cheerleaders leaves the boy a quivering, bloody heap behind the bleachers for the groundskeeper to discover the next day.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Having completed their ghastly work, Gwen’s squad members return to the field and resume their cheerleading activities, as Gwen reminds them once more that she is the boss and they are all her es.
Oooh, this my , this my [repeated four times]
By calling her exercise routines “ ,” Gwen is showing us that for all her bravado, the character in this song secretly suffers from profound self-esteem issues. She is a complex antiheroine for an age of changing gender at udes and expectations.
Let me hear you say, this is bananas
B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Here, Gwen steps away from this bloody spectacle for a moment to comment on the madness and ugliness of what we’ve just witnessed, and, by extension, the petty rivalries of high school in general. This is bananas, Gwen tells us, and we can only agree. And lest we miss the point, she spells it out. And repeats it another three times.
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Back on the field, Gwen is still bullying the squad to carry out her routines. But now we see her in a new light, as the sad, lost creature she truly is.
Oooh, this my , this my [repeated four times]
As the song fades out, Gwen is left only with her “ ,” the mindless exercises that bring her no comfort from the raging emptiness within. As much as she “hollas,” no one hears her cries for help.
User sent me something like this the other day when I was asking WTF that song was supposed to mean....but it was far more in-depth. I can't believe someone actually wasted that much of their time on that crap song. Or any time at all on it, for that matter.
I HATE that song.....yet whenever I hear it, even for a minute, it always ends up sticking in my head the rest of the day.
the successfuly memes are usually those that are catchiest and are repeated in our mind several times so that we may repeat them to others and spread them further
someone is probing Gwen Stefani? GiG will probably be claiming responsibility soon.
My nine month old daughter goes bananas when she hears that song.
that was a crackup...i just thought she'd gone crazy. but this explanation of the song is good too.
i wish she'd get a boob job.
Oooh, this my , this my [repeated four times]
Again with the .
i found it to be quite humerous
I always took it to mean that she's not a
After " a Good" and "Hey Baby" people are still looking for meaning in Gwen Stefani's lyrics?
Damn I hate that song...but Gwen Stefnai is hot as .
Gavin Rossdale is a lucky bas to be able to hit that girl from the back and make her holla.
What the deal with her and japanese chicks? Is it cool to have a jap hang out with you the way Kid Rock made it cool to hang with midgets??
i hang with both just to be sure....
You sonofa , Zak!i hang with both just to be sure....
I can't stop ing laughing at that.
I freaking hate this song, personally i liked gwen when she was with No Doubt, but how is she going to go from ska singer to this type of music, she's an idiot trying to keep up with the hip hop world.....what a loser
as you say that she laughs at you, as the millions of dollars and millions of new fans scream for her.she's an idiot trying to keep up with the hip hop world.....what a loser
Yup, loser
classic..
Coming from a guy on a messageboard that calls himself Batman.
who the has the time to study a crap song. what a loser lol
Hollaback Girl- teaching an entire generation of kids how to spell
Now THAT is hilarious. I might have to finally make it to a GTG just on the strength of that line and picture.i hang with both just to be sure....
So that makes two of you.
I'm going to assume he was paid to do so.
I got paid (well, not really since I'm salaried) to review NCAA Football 2006 and Mind of Mencia.
that song totally sucks. :vomit
classic!
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