Just a Girl
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| “Just a Girl” | |||||
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| Single by No Doubt from the album Tragic Kingdom |
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| Released | 1995 (North America) | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 3:26 | ||||
| Label | Interscope | ||||
| Writer(s) | Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont | ||||
| Producer | Matthew Wilder | ||||
| No Doubt singles chronology | |||||
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| Alternate cover | |||||
German single cover
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"Just a Girl" is a song written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont for No Doubt's third album Tragic Kingdom. The song was released in 1995 as the album's lead single and helped the band break into mainstream music.
"Just a Girl" was first aired on Californian radio show Ska Parade.[1] The song helped No Doubt's career immensely, peaking at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. [2] The song also gave the group another hit on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number three. It was also featured in the movie Clueless and the opening credits of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. Professional wrestler Mickie James used the song as her theme when she wrestled as Alexis Laree in Ohio Valley Wrestling.
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[edit] Music and lyrics
"Just a Girl" is written in the key of D major and common time at a moderate 110 beats per minute.[3] The opening riff that Dumont uses was taken from an earlier effort by keyboardist Eric Stefani.[4] The song is heavily influenced by New Wave music, using synth noise from a Roland Jupiter-8, '80s keyboards and effects, and retro sounds.
Gwen Stefani came up with the title.[4] The song itself discusses the paradox of post-feminism. The lyrics reference the domestic violence "rule of thumb". Her vocal range in "Just a Girl" spans nearly an octave and a half, from B4 to E6.[3]
[edit] Music video
The music video was directed by Mark Kohr. It opens with Stefani sitting in front of a beat-up car while the rest of the band loads the car. They then drive off and arrive at a building where she enters the women's bathroom and the rest of the band enters the men's. The band sets up its equipment in the grey, dingy bathroom while Stefani sings in the decorated and brightly colored bathroom. Eventually, the band takes to lifting people through the ceiling to get into the women's bathroom, and the video ends with Tom Dumont and Tony Kanal standing directly in front of the wall that had been separating the bathrooms.
[edit] Charts
| Chart(1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 9 |
| U.S Billboard Hot 100 | 23 |
| U.S Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 10 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 3 |
[edit] Track listings
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[edit] References
- ^ Layne, Anni. "The Ska Parade Is Coming To Town". Rolling Stone. May 9, 1998. Retrieved April 27, 2007.
- ^ "No Doubt". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2007.
- ^ a b "Just a Girl" sheet music. Hal Leonard Corporation. 1995.
- ^ a b "Just a Girl". Montoya, Paris and Lanham, Tom. 2003. The Singles 1992-2003 (liner notes).
[edit] External links
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