# Does Robyn even understand her song "Call Your Girlfriend"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898 "2011-12-12T12:53:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/1 "2011-12-12T12:53:06Z")
I know she has co-writing credit for it, but I suspect it’s not the lyrics. I became aware of the song, in my clueless middle-aged way, when somebody in my facebook friends posted the Erato margarine-tub cover of the song, which I loved. So I sought out the original, and WTF? It came to mind again when I saw her on SNL this past Saturday, and the video isn’t a fluke - her triumphant Jazzercise ™ presentation is how she _does_ her song. 😕 Am I alone in suspecting she doesn’t understand what she’s singing? ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/2 "2011-12-12T18:27:10Z")
Who? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/3 "2011-12-12T18:30:04Z")
What? ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/4 "2011-12-12T18:36:39Z")
The incredibly helpful replies to this thread notwithstanding, I’m not sure I understand the OP’s confusion. She’s interested in a man who currently has a girlfriend and she’s telling him to call her and end it so they can do their thing together. It seems fairly straightforward to me. [Here are the lyrics](http://www.metrolyrics.com/call-your-girlfriend-lyrics-robyn.html); perhaps you can clarify what your sticking point is. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/5 "2011-12-12T18:40:52Z")
I suspect the OP is referring to the fact that the song’s lyrics are about a girl telling a guy to call his girlfriend and break up with her, letting her down easy - but she performs the song with dance-eriffic choreography - up and poppy, in contrast to the lyric’s topics… ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/6 "2011-12-12T18:45:42Z")
Maybe that’s the issue, but that’s Robyn. She’s an electropop/dance artist – her primary musical style is upbeat and danceable. This is another song off the same album: [Dancing on My Own](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcNo07Xp8aQ). Similar in style and tone, with similarly sad lyrics. This in fact could be from the perspective of the girl she’s singing about in the first song. This one is written by someone seeing her ex-boyfriend with a new girl in a club. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/7 "2011-12-12T18:56:56Z")
I should have been clearer. Robyn who? Or is it just Robyn? Like Cher or Prince? Bambi helpfully tells us that this woman is a musician. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/8 "2011-12-12T19:09:48Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > I should have been clearer. Robyn who? > > Or is it just Robyn? Like Cher or Prince? > > Bambi helpfully tells us that this woman is a musician. Yeah, Robyn is a pixie-ish Swedish (?) dance/pop singer who has never blown up in the U.S. She writes her own songs and has gotten regular critical acclaim, so she is seen as a cut above your typical pop-tart… ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/9 "2011-12-12T19:12:03Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > I should have been clearer. Robyn who? > > Or is it just Robyn? Like Cher or Prince? > > Bambi helpfully tells us that this woman is a musician. Swedish pop singer who goes by the one name of Robyn. Here’s Wikipedia: > **[Robyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robyn)** > > Robin Miriam Carlsson (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Swedish pronunciation: \[ˈrɔ̌bːɪn ˈkɑ̌ːɭsɔn\]; born 12 June 1979), known professionally as Robyn (pronounced \[ˈrɔ̌bːʏn\]), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. Her 1995 debut album Robyn Is Here produced two Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles: "Do You Know (Wha... ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/10 "2011-12-12T19:20:58Z")
Thanks! I’m afraid I’m out of touch with mainstream music these days. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/11 "2011-12-12T21:27:05Z")
The OP is right! I’d never heard of Robyn, or the song, so I YouTubed her [official video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6ImxY6hnfA&ob=av3e) and boy, was I confused! I mean, I understood the premise of the lyrics, which were clearly and distinctly delivered, so that I had no doubt about the _overt_ storyline. I mean, any straightforward listen immediately alerts the audience that this is a standard tale of industrial-political espionage, coded messages delivered via patsy between ostensible “rivals.” But that horrid dance throws the pan-romantic subtext of the piece into quite thorough confusion! With the overly exquisite yak-fur vest, the Pollock-patterned tights, that distracting ‘Chekov’s gun’ of the misaligned runway light at about 00:32, not to mention the choreographic references to Stravinsky and the cubist movement in early 20th century art… well. I believe this calls into question the literary coherence of the artist’s entire _oeuvre_. It wasn’t until I viewed [this fine cover version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQoCEvVL57E&ob=av2n) that I felt the post-agricultural melange of northerwestern Europe had been adequately rendered in the work. Indeed, the discerning critic must henceforth consider syncopated drumming onto plastic food tubs the perfect medium for this particular message. Next week on Video Exegesis, we’ll take a deep dive into the music of OK Go in search of clues to the construction of elaborate, pointless and single use machines. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/12 "2011-12-12T21:49:10Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > I should have been clearer. Robyn who? > > Or is it just Robyn? Like Cher or Prince? > > Bambi helpfully tells us that this woman is a musician. I guess my thread title including the words _her song_, my OP that included the phrases _co-writing credit_, _lyrics_, _the song_, _the song_, _saw her on SNL_, how she does _her song_, and _she’s singing_ weren’t clear. She’s a musician. I should have googled everything for you too. I apologize. **xeonophon41** , it’s a valid question. Two of the singers in _Abba_, and the group\* Ace of Bass \*sang songs in English that they didn’t understand. I sing _Adeste Fideles_ and some of the Latin is beyond me. I really suspect, because of her delivery, that she doesn’t ‘get’ what she’s singing. Her attitude seems more like ‘I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend.’ ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/13 "2011-12-12T22:11:13Z")
Oh, I agree it’s a valid question, **bup** , considering that she may have memorized the English phonetically. I just thought I’d throw a little whimsy at the question, being a part time resident of Snarkville. I do protest the general idea that music videos are useful in any critical sense in interpreting song meanings or evaluating individual artists’ interpretations. Other than a few videos which take a strictly literal approach to the song, or which add a visual element that doesn’t stray far from the specific storyline, most maintain only very broad thematic fidelity to the audio portion. I really don’t see any unusual discordance in the Robyn video. It is, after all, a dance track. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/14 "2011-12-12T22:13:10Z")
I saw her on SNL, and she stunk. It’s no wonder she isn’t big in The States. When she sings and dances, it makes me think that the Uncanny Valley applies to Europeans as well. It’s like watching an android trying to tap into the American pop zeitgeist and missing the mark by 20 years and a million lines of code. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/15 "2011-12-12T22:15:39Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I guess my thread title including the words _her song_, my OP that included the phrases _co-writing credit_, _lyrics_, _the song_, _the song_, _saw her on SNL_, how she does _her song_, and _she’s singing_ weren’t clear. > > She’s a musician. I should have googled everything for you too. I apologize. > .’ Asshole. Fuck you very much. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/16 "2011-12-12T22:18:12Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Asshole Sissy. ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/17 "2011-12-12T22:20:16Z")
I like Robyn. I don’t know why, I just do. Most of her stuff is this sort of poppy dancey mindless stuff. She is rather Jazzercise, but I’m fairly certain she understands the lyrics. I’m sure I’ve seen her speaking English well in interviews before. Check out her version of Cobrastyle for a song with lyrics even she must have heard and gone ‘w-w-w-what?’ and then a moment later gone ‘yeah, I’ll sing that’. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/18 "2011-12-12T22:24:52Z")
Heh, and here I opened up this thread expecting a discussion of how much better the lyrics fit if it’s a gay guy singing to his closeted boyfriend about dumping the beard… ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/19 "2011-12-12T22:43:42Z")
Without hearing the song, the lyrics seem to have a kind of “_Nyeah-Nyeah-Nyeah_” attitude. Even though breaking up can be a serious thing, from the singer’s point of view it’s more like reveling in the fact that she stole somebody else’s boyfriend away. In that light, I don’t see the problem with these lyrics being performed as a dancy pop song. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/20 "2011-12-12T22:48:49Z")
This was the first CS thread on the SDMB main page when I just now logged back in, and all I saw was “Does Robyn even understand…” My first thought was “Do I understand what?” 😕 Suffice it to say I’ve never heard of this Robyn. I may check her out, though. I like poppy Jazzercise stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898.md?page=2)