Isabelle Shaw

Cate Canning’s new single Girlfriend, captures all too well-known feelings of a one-sided relationship by using a catchy chorus and synth music to create a euphonious pop sound.

This song navigates relationships in all their different forms. Canning’s lyrics describe a universally relatable encounter with a love interest who: “wants a girlfriend but doesn’t want to be a boyfriend.”

One-sided relationships

The London-based, indie pop artist cleverly uses her lyrics to depict the well-known feelings of a one-sided relationship. The main hook is extremely relatable as she perfectly depicts modern ‘situationship’ culture.

“.He can’t even spare the time to comfort her when she is crying, leading to the conclusion that “he doesn’t want to be a boyfriend.”

Canning recognises that her love interest wants her to play the girlfriend role, wanting “someone he can hold when it’s cold at night.” But, it soon becomes apparent love interest is extremely selfish and isn’t reciprocating the effort.  He can’t even spare the time to comfort her when she is crying, leading to the conclusion that “he doesn’t want to be a boyfriend.”

Male expectations of women in relationships

These extremely honest and heartfelt lyrics represent the age-old view of women being expected to serve men in relationships. The lyrics recognise the one-sided nature of only wanting her for a “good time” without commitment, echoing Canning’s previous singles such as Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

There is a recurring theme in her work – men lacking commitment. But the lyrics in Girlfriend are self-reflective and represent the journey of a young girl understanding different types of love.

Storytelling

It is no secret that Canning has been influenced by the confessional songwriting style of songstresses, such as Taylor Swift and Maisie Peters. Similar to these artists, she uses her own dating experiences to write relatable lyrics that appeal to a young audience who can connect with her story.

“Canning creates a sense of comfort so that other young people can feel less alone”

Despite her humorous tone, it is hard to ignore the reality that her new song is extremely cathartic to listen to. Canning creates a sense of comfort so that other young people can feel less alone in their experiences with boys who did not “want to be a boyfriend.”

Navigating new relationships

Girlfriend highlights that Canning is learning what men she is in relationships with want. The self-awareness is summarised in the contradictory chorus. The male protagonist wants a girlfriend but doesn’t want to commit himself to her. The honesty of Canning’s songwriting helps other people trying to understand their relationships.

The songwriter herself even explains that her music is influenced by her personal life, documenting what she has learnt about dating through her music.

Girlfriend does exactly this, portraying the difficulties of a one-sided relationship in the form of an extremely catchy song.

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Featured image courtesy of Mathias Reding on Pexels. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.

Isabelle is a student at the University of Edinburgh studying History and Spanish. She is an aspiring journalist with a focus on writing articles that help contribute to change and understanding of women's rights.

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