# 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:** 2
**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, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/21 "2011-12-12T23:02:40Z")
> [@Feyrat](#): > > 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… No. That would have been interesting. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/22 "2011-12-12T23:07:59Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > 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. There is 0 chance of that, scandinavians speak English nowadays. Also, your whimsy was rather enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/23 "2011-12-13T02:20:19Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > 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. That’s funny because I saw her on SNL and she kinda grew on me a bit. At first I was put off by her weird style and frenetic dance moves, but her songs were really catchy and I ended up watching a few of her videos on YouTube afterward. I can’t say I’d buy her album or anything, but she’s pretty good, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/24 "2011-12-13T02:38:12Z")
I saw her on SNL… I usually turn the sound down for the music acts after about ten seconds… Yes, I GIVE THEM EXACTLY 10 SECONDS to do something, I might want to hear, or STFU. Robyn was odd but she didn’t get muted, so it was ok. Since she write her tunes, that might imply she understands the meaning, or feeling to convey. She seemed ambiguous to me…not that it matters. I was waiting for her to climb on something and jump off and do the splits for some reason…[The Ross Sisters - Solid Potato Salad (DVD Quality) Full Video - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1J3NLNWAPU) 😉 ---
**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 13, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/25 "2011-12-13T02:43:36Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Asshole. Fuck you very much. Seriously? If you can’t read the OP and figure out Robyn is a singer, perhaps you could have put a few key words from the post (such as _robyn call your girlfriend_) into Google and seen what popped up for you. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/26 "2011-12-13T02:48:37Z")
> [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](#): > > Seriously? If you can’t read the OP and figure out Robyn is a singer, perhaps you could have put a few key words from the post (such as _robyn call your girlfriend_) into Google and seen what popped up for you. Dude, that’s ridiculous. My next thread will be a poll about the favorite Beatle. OP: “The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed…” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/27 "2011-12-13T05:24:17Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Asshole. Fuck you very much. > [@xenophon41](#): > > Sissy. I’m giving you both warnings for personal insults. Don’t do this again. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/28 "2011-12-13T05:34:10Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Dude, that’s ridiculous. My next thread will be a poll about the favorite Beatle. > > OP: “The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed…” Now don’t be silly. There’s a world of difference between the Beatles and some Swedish twat named Robyn. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/29 "2011-12-13T06:01:04Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > 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. I think she understands the lyrics quite fine but has a certain “Scandinavian Meter and sensibility” to her singing style and rhyming in English that is really quite common in Germanic languages… sort of a musical “accent”. I am also reminded of Bjork in this aspect. Actually, I think the lyrics are quite piercing and fluent in the rather knowing and cliched language of the American “breakup”. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/30 "2011-12-13T06:13:54Z")
The incongruous nature of her dancing style and overall sense of fashion is just her shtick and “cobra stylee” as a singer and performance artist. Ironic, yet earnest in a late 90’s, very European Disco and Rave, distinctly Squarehead way. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/31 "2011-12-13T06:23:30Z")
Definitely a better sense of club kid style and savoir faire than those Jersey shore idgits. I watch them dance on that Jersey shore and wonder WTF? That’s some shitty dancing right there compared to her club style. Europeans dance better compared to those fist pumpin fools, hell, even i got more ryhthm than those Lasagnas. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/32 "2011-12-13T08:15:07Z")
For lack of a better term, and her strongly, American influenced, style, I would call it “Scandie Hip Hop”. She brings her Euro Nativity to the American Market. Really, some of the most assimilated modern European music compared to some other musical styles. She got the American audience in mind rather consciously/ ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/33 "2011-12-13T08:27:48Z")
It’s shit white people like. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/34 "2011-12-13T08:39:26Z")
Jesus Christ, you lazy people. Googled ‘Robyn’. First result is Wikipedia’s “Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter.” Takes all of 2 seconds. You might as well go around every thread you don’t have a clue about and say “Who? What?” Or don’t, because it’s a waste of time and annoying. I’ve no idea what the shit “Boardwalk Empire” is but you don’t see me posting in the thread about it asking what it is and inferring it must be crap because I’ve not heard of it. Since she’s more dance-pop the lyrics take a backseat anyway, but it’s just a fairly plea to just be straightforward and not play two women at once. Oh, and I know she’s functionally fluent in English so it’s no language issue. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/35 "2011-12-13T08:41:05Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Jesus Christ, you lazy people. Googled ‘Robyn’. First result is Wikipedia’s “Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter.” Takes all of 2 seconds. You might as well go around every thread you don’t have a clue about and say “Who? What?” Or don’t, because it’s a waste of time and annoying. I’ve no idea what the shit “Boardwalk Empire” is but you don’t see me posting in the thread about it asking what it is and inferring it must be crap because I’ve not heard of it. > > Since she’s more dance-pop the lyrics take a backseat anyway, but it’s just a fairly plea to just be straightforward and not play two women at once. It’s not really so much who is she, as what the hell is the OP going on about? It’s a pretty cryptic OP. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/36 "2011-12-13T08:48:07Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > It’s not really so much who is she, as what the hell is the OP going on about? It’s a pretty cryptic OP. Maybe, I took it to mean - song lyrics are pretty bleak and about getting someone to break up a relationship, song video/music is way too upbeat for it - due to the mismatch, does the singer understand the meaning of the words. But that’s her Swedish-dance shtick. For the record, [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ojHWQrm4UM) is her best song. Even if the OP was worded awkwardly, it’s no justification for some of the ignorant posts in this topic. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/37 "2011-12-13T08:56:48Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Even if the OP was worded awkwardly, it’s no justification for some of the ignorant posts in this topic. It’s not that it was “worded awkwardly” - the OP comes along with some unexplained beef and absolutely no insight whatsoever into his or her strange thought processes that provoked the criticism. It’s the OP who needs to try (much) harder to explain him or herself, not the readers who need to strain to understand what he or she is trying to convey. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/38 "2011-12-13T09:02:21Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > It’s not that it was “worded awkwardly” - the OP comes along with some unexplained beef and absolutely no insight whatsoever into his or her strange thought processes that provoked the criticism. It’s the OP who needs to try (much) harder to explain him or herself, not the readers who need to strain to understand what he or she is trying to convey. YMMV, I guess. I understood it alright I hope, if you haven’t seen the video or heard of the song (or artist) it wouldn’t make much sense, but then why would you post in the topic in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/39 "2011-12-13T09:22:02Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Two of the singers in _Abba_, and the group\* Ace of Bass \*sang songs in English that they didn’t understand. Got a citation for the Abba thing? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898/40 "2011-12-13T09:37:18Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Got a citation for the Abba thing? For that matter I don’t think it’s true of Ace Of Bass, check out this interview: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ex2GCJcpb8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ex2GCJcpb8) One of them seems very comfortable in English, but they all speak English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-robyn-even-understand-her-song-call-your-girlfriend/605898.md?page=3)