Paul Roberts, lead singer of The Stranglers, chastises an independent young girl in the grim "Strange Little Girl."
A sinister piano opens the single, setting a predatory tone. Roberts belittles her for no reason other than her gender. He notices that she's morose. After speaking to her, he nonchalantly says that she's simply a runaway. In a condescending voice, he warns her to be careful while in town.
" One day, see a strange little girl look at you/One day, see a strange little girl feeling blue/She'd run to the town one day, leaving home and her country fair/Just beware when you're there, strange little girl."
After seeing her for awhile, he assumes she couldn't make it on her own. The town was scary and thorny. It's certainly not a place for young women with pretty faces and wordy thoughts. He saw her walk back home, lost in her own mind. He concludes that although she was able to stay for a week, she couldn't handle it. She had seen things she could not believe existed. He thinks the the town wasn't inviting or pretty enough for her.
"She didn't know how to live in a town that was rough/It didn't take long before she knew she'd had enough/Walking home in her wrapped up world, she survived, but she's feeling old/'Cause she found all things cold."
In the chorus, he questions her need to be an individual. As though he were irritated by her presence, he wonders if she could have gone somewhere else.
"Strange little girl, where are you going?/Strange little girl, where are you going?/Do you know where you could be going?"
A superior harpiscord solo follows.
The last lyric of the only verse is sung again.
"Walking home in her wrapped up world, she survived, but she's feeling old/'Cause she found all things cold."
The chorus is repeated twice to end the single.
The single's misogyny is disturbing. He infantilizes the young girl by calling her little. However, it sounds as though she were older. He thinks she's frightened and weak. If she's alone, she's only a runaway. She doesn't matter. Roberts' frigid attitude and hard demeanor is vicious. It's as though he's threatened by her.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
interesting to see you cover two versions of the same song, Pam, thanks! You should tell readers about the other review (in each of them) and it would be most interesting to hear some direct thoughts comparing them. As it stands, the reviews are like bookends with only space between them.
I assume the Sranger's version is the original?
2 - El Bicho
I'm with Eric. I like the idea of comparing songs and am surprised you don't combine them into one piece.
3 - Pam Avoledo
Thanks!
Yes, the Stranglers version is the original. I hadn't thought of combining them before.
4 - Sad Millionaire
I was actually looking for the chords for this song when I stumbled across this 4 year old review.
Poor Paul Roberts. You’re giving him all this flak over a song he had nothing to do with writing. SLG was actually recorded 8 years before he even joined the band â€" replacing singer-songwriter Hugh Cornwell.
Hugh wrote the lyrics about an old girlfriend of his who lived in the same small town. She apparently used to hitch-hike to tend to a couple of horses she owned and this was the inspiration for the song.
I find it strange that on your Tori Amos review, you describe the song as reaching out to a lonely young woman, whilst suggesting that the original version is a put-down of women. Hmmm! Both versions have the same lyrics. Both versions are recorded in a ballad style. Misogyny eh!
P.S. There is definitely no harpsichord on this song.