Making it go quiet four years later: A look at girl in red’s if i could make it go quiet
If you were on TikTok – or anywhere on the internet – in 2020, you may have heard the question, “Do you listen to girl in red?” as code for asking if a woman is gay. While I recognize that many LGBTQ+ women listen to girl in red – after all, the artist herself is queer –many of the experiences she writes about in her songs transcend sexuality.
Her 2021 debut album, if i could make it go quiet, has many of these songs – ones that can be applied to any type of love. As a straight woman myself, I understand that I will never be able to relate to some of her songs like “i wanna be your girlfriend,” but many songs from if i could make it go quiet like “Apartment 402”, “Did You Come?” and “You Stupid Bitch” have lyrics that hold true for me, even though I may not fit into her typical fanbase demographic.
“Apartment 402” depicts the story of someone who has gone through a difficult time in their life, with lyrics such as “I could die here and nobody would know.” However sad this song may seem, I believe it has a positive spin because of the lyric “I've been through hell / But on my way out” in the opening verse. To me, this exemplifies how we will get through the hardest times in our lives, and that it is okay to still be upset by whatever happened, even once it is over. This song depicts a universal experience for everyone, with no direct reference to what the difficult time was. It could be applied to anything ranging from a romantic breakup to the loss of a parent.
“Did You Come?” is an angry ballad directed at a cheating ex, calling them a liar and manipulator while asking them to disclose the intimate details of whothey were cheating with. Even if you’ve never been cheated on, you can still scream the chorus “You should know better now / To fuck it up and fuck around” while thinking of someone that has wronged you. “Did You Come?” epitomizes female rage through a catchy beat you’ll find yourself humming all day.
Lastly, “You Stupid Bitch” emphasizes the annoyance you feel when the person you like doesn’t like you back. When you repeatedly watch them get hurt knowing you could treat them well, you end up singing along to the chorus of “You stupid bitch, can’t you see / The perfect one for you is me.” Just by calling the recipient of the song a “stupid bitch,” girl in red emphasizes how you may feel slighted when the person you like doesn’t want you back and how you may resort to childish comments.
if i could make it go quiet is full of songs like these three – ones that anyone, regardless of sexuality, will find a connection to. if i could make it go quiet has had a lasting impact on queer women and culture, though you do not have to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community in order to relate to this album. Even though girl in red has many songs about the LGBTQ+ experience, if i could make it go quiet is an album that anyone can find something to relate to. As her debut album, if i could make it go quiet threw girl in red’s name into the spotlight by touching upon many universal experiences such as mental health. if i could make it go quiet set girl in red up for her most recent album, I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! and her new single “confessions.” If you want to understand the hype around girl in red, listen to her on any music streaming service today!