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The Invisible Girl
(Rick Springfield)
You call the priest and come bury me
cause I think I'm already dead
I wish, I wish somebody
would bring you back to me
or take you out of my head
I think you said that you love me
I must have missed the inflection
I put a band aid on a bullet wound
and ignored the infection
I see her everywhere the invisible girl
And everything's alright
she's dancing by the fire and she's looking at me
It's six o'clock in your little town baby
As you get ready to go out for the night
Some pretty stranger's going to take you down
but I can't, I can't make that feel alright
I was in love with the ghost in you
You were my apparition
It doesn't matter if it goes the way you want it to
cause life's a suicide mission
I see her everywhere, the invisible girl
yea and everything's alright
She's dancing by the fire and looking at me
I see her on the stairs the invisible girl
Yea she's with me tonight�
she's aching with desire
but she loves only me
I guess you did what you had to do to survive
I'm pretty sure I'm not angry anymore, baby
Hey, Invisible girl
I'm not angry anymore, baby
I see her everywhere the invisible girl
yea, she's with me tonight
she's dancing by the fire and she's looking at me
I see her on the stairs the invisible girl
and everything's alright
she's dancing with the boys
but she loves only me
I wish I was invisible
(total playing time 2:53)
Song Facts: This can be found on shock/denial/anger/acceptance.� |
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According to US
I like this song a lot, and I've been stuck on the review for months because when you like a song a lot, you want to have something brilliant to say about it, or at least be able to convey why you like it so much, and I just don't know. A lot of the songs I like on SDAA are that way. Usually when I really like a song, it's because I identify with it in some way, or it really paints a picture to make you feel it and I don't know what half the songs on this cd really mean. I always think of this song as "Invisible Girl" without the "the". I actually thinking having "The" in the title seems to make it less personal - "The Invisible Girl" as opposed to "Invisible Girl". "The" creates a distance. (am I wigging out, or what?).
I really love the first verse. It has that sarcastic bite that I love so much. And it starts to paint the picture of someone being miserable over lost love. Then it goes to the chorus and kind of switches gears, we go away from him, and focus on her. What makes her invisible? She's invisible, but he sees her everywhere. A contrast. And she's focused on him, but is she really or is it what he wants to believe.
The second verse, completely different from the first. She sleeps around with a lot of guys she doesn't know, that's what I get from it. He was in love with the person she used to be or he wanted her to be, or who he thought she could be. Ending with one of the most brilliant lines ever - Life's a suicide mission. I like that so much, I had it put on a shirt. I just don't really know how it fits into the song. When a line is that good, it doesn't really matter though, you can somehow let it slide.
Even though she's with a lot of people, she loves only him, or at least he thinks so. He wishes he was invisible. Everything could come together for me if I knew what invisible meant. He wants to be like her? I kind of don't think so.
I love this song, I just have no clue what it means. - rlh
This is definitely one of my favorite songs on the CD. There is so
much about this song that I connect with, and, then again, there is so much about this song that I just haven't come to terms with yet.
Is this girl really real? Is she just an image of the perfect girl that he's got in his mind? Is she the sole mate that he thinks is
still out there and he hasn't connected with yet? I've even wrestled with the idea of maybe it's about fans who admire him from
afar. It seems every time I hear this song, I think of a different angle.
The line ... I put a band aid on the bullet wound and ignored the infection ... I love the denial in his voice. I guess I connect with
this line! And the line ... I'm pretty sure I'm not angry anymore, baby ... I get the idea that he trying to convince himself he's not
angry anymore. - Charlotte P.
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OK I've now written and deleted this review about 4 times. As soon as I'm sure of something I get through about half the lyrics and then blow that whole theory to pieces .
I always try to get my ideas down before I read anyone else's - and I'm sticking to that here but it's tough. The biggest hurdle for me was the meaning behind "invisible" because I think the song hinges on that. The three meanings behind invisible I was wrestling with were
(a) lost relationship
(b) lost loved one/death - but also a tortuous relationship to begin with
(c) idealized relationship but one that isn't real
I've talked myself into and out of them equally I was really going with the lost loved one for the most part, as in:
He wants someone to bring her back - or take the memories of her out of his head. So that tells me that she did exist and perhaps losing her is what is causing him to already believe he's dead too. Missing the inflection - missing the meaning of her words. This is where I think it shows that the relationship wasn't perfect. And I *love* the "band aid on a bullet wound and ignored the infection" line. That's great imagery for whenever we try to solve a major problem as if it's minor and then making it worse in the end. This could speak to the problems in the relationship or his dealing with the loss -- it hurt him more than he thought it would/did. Then, since he didn't deal with it properly at the outset it just got worse (which he also ignored). Then in his despair/hope he still sees her everywhere - looking and acting like she always did. The "little town" line ....ok this is where I start to pull away from this theory... but in his mind he could be assuming she's living "on the other side" in much the same way she did before. So in her "little town" she's still the crazy girl around town - but he's not there. So he sees her everywhere, wishes she was still with him and convinces himself that she would be if she were. It just seems very tragic - as if she killed herself or something else very tragic happened. Like he's trying to understand why she did what she did and he's frustrated yet in love with her all at the same time.
OK so it's either all that - or just a horrible break-up, but the relationship wasn't out-in-the-open so even the hurt cannot be acknowledged. And they live in a small town or travel in the same circles thus they see each other a lot and yet cannot acknowledge the situation. Well at least that was shorter
But I love two other lines in this song: "It doesn't matter if it goes the way you want it to/cause life's a suicide mission" .... the words, the tone, love it! And then the end "I wish I was invisible"... for me this line goes back to "Ordinary Girl" where he calls himself ordinary. I don't know why... but for all the pain and anguish in the song he just wants to be like her / with her.~Jen
H.
This is one of my favorites on SDAA, and I've listened to it more times than I can probably count. I love the lyrics. I love the music. I love the voice. I can totally relate to the subject matter. It took me a long time to not be an Invisible Girl, but speaking as a former person who was afraid to speak out in a crowd - I'm glad I'm not there anymore. I know I'm seeing this song from a different perspective than others, but the more I listen to it, the more it just makes sense to me in my way, ya know?
The first stanza makes you believe this is another relationship song. It probably is. Rick feels "dead" because he can't get this girl out of his mind. Another classic line for the history books here: "I put a band-aid on a bullet wound and ignored the infection." Fabulous! Put a quick fix on something, anything, and hope it goes away. I can admit to trying that a time or two.
The song kicks up the beat a notch, and I'm so glad he's noticing the Indivisible Girl over there dancing by the fire. I tried to always go off on my own in places, and never thought anyone noticed me. Rick notices girls like me! (my review, my fantasy)
"It's 6 o'clock in your little town baby, as you get ready to go out for the night." Yep that's me. Born in a small town, and I live in a small town, probably die in a small town. (sorry Mr. Mellencamp for the plagiarism there) Listening to Rick tunes, getting the vibe - will I meet THE guy tonight? But as Rick says, "it doesn't matter if it goes the way you want it to 'cause life's a suicide mission." Oooh...heavy meaning and imagery there. There's that darn depression rearing it's ugly head again, and yet another suicide mention. I thank my lucky stars I never got to that point in my life.
"I guess you did what you had to do to survive" Leave him? Sounds that way in this song. For me, to survive was to blend...into the crowd...into the furniture...into a nothing-ness existence. Being an Invisible Girl.
"I see her on the stairs the invisible girl and everything's all right. She's dancing with the boys but she loves only me. I wish I was invisible." Sigh.... I get the feeling he wants to be invisible to be like her, or more like her. Yes, I love only him. :-)
I love the little *blurb* of the JG notes in this one. It makes me wonder if Jessie's Girl was an Invisible Girl as well.
- Michelle P.
I like it, but I don't love it! There are so many ways you could choose to interpret this song, it's almost confusing. To me, it seems he wants someone back, or to forget about her altogether. However, I wonder if the "she" is the demon in his head that he's been trying so hard to extract so that he can finally be happy. It just seems like it's a little complicated. Not much else to say about this one.
- Amy L.
"You call the priest and bury me, cause I think I'm already
dead."
What a great opening line! Leave it to Rick! That line alone has a way of snagging the listener immediately, wanting to know "why" he's already dead. Is that some of his usual sarcasm I hear when he says that!? The echoes he uses in this song are perfect. I feel it combines well with this song. I gives me a feeling of something ghostly, or like an inner voice that's talking back. And the clarity & crisp sound of his voice are AWESOME. I think the restaurant sounds in the very beginning add a nice touch too!
When I first got SDAA, this song was not one that I hit repeat on very often. I liked it, but was not "into it" as much as some of the others. Maybe I wasn't really getting any meaning out of the song right off, and that's why. Now�I am totally hooked on the Invisible Girl! I play it over & over at times. Something just clicked with me & this song one day, out of the blue. I do not see a Jessie's Girl resemblance to this song as some have said in other reviews. I've tried to hear it, but I just don't. About the only thing I can come up with that is even close, would be the "longing" aspect of the lyrics. I wonder if there's something in the guitar chords I'm not hearing.
Rick's voice in these opening lines just melts me to butter! The desperation in his voice is so raw�"I wish, I wish somebody would bring you back to me, or take you outta my head." Obvious pain & longing here. Heartbreaking in fact.
"I think you said that you loved me, I must have missed the inflection." That is vocally one of my favorite lines in the whole song. His voice is sheer perfection! And then�to top off the loneliness he's already
feeling----"I put a band-aid on the bullet wound, and ignored the
infection." (DENIAL for sure!) Intelligent songwriting if you ask me J
"I see her everywhere the Invisible Girl. And everything's alright. She's dancing' by the fire and she's looking at
me." The feeling I get when he sings these lines, is that everything is NOT alright�he's just in denial and trying to convince himself that the love is okay. Or maybe it's just the sexual paranoia that Rick says he has�the jealousy eating at him, and causing him suspicion.
I hate to theorize too personally as to where I think this song came from, but it's hard to review such a vague song, and not give an opinion. I may be way off base though, but it's all I can come up with. I've pondered this song a zillion times now! I heard Rick say that he was in Vegas all that time for EFX & mostly away from his family. He also said he was writing SDAA at that time too. I gather from this song that the Invisible Girl is Barbie, and that he is not only missing her deeply, but he is paranoid that someone will steal her away. Invisible in the sense that she's not there, and also with another meaning---he has always been the one in the public eye, and she has not. She's been very behind the scenes in comparison, like an invisible girl. But I wonder if the writing of this song took place during a time when they were very much apart. You know how when you miss someone so much & want them there with you, you can almost see them there�.like a ghost, an apparition? It seems everywhere you turn, their image is there, floating before your eyes. They're invisible, an imaginary companion. The next verse further seals the B. idea in my mind.
"It's 6 o' clock in your little town baby, as you get ready to go out for the night (life moves on�). Some pretty stranger's gonna take you down. But I can't I can't make that feel
alright." (fear, paranoia?) Maybe he's afraid someone will wine & dine her while he's not there.
"I was in love with a ghost of you, you were my apparition�" Back to that clear, yet breathy, sexy voice like in the 1st verse. The ghost thing�she's there in spirit or in his heart, but not physically. Oh and the classic line:
"It doesn't matter if it goes the way you want it to, cause life's a suicide
mission." Wow, now that's profound! I love that quavering thing in his voice when he says "to," and the way he says "suicide mission." Too cool! Sometimes I wonder if life really is a suicide mission, in a sense. With the mental and emotional torment we often bring upon ourselves, the physical damages to our bodies, and then with the larger picture�the wars we've had in the world. We DO destroy ourselves, in more ways than one.
Next chorus�everywhere he looks, he sees her, wanting him. "She's aching with desire but she loves only me." She's dancing by the fire, she's on the stairs, she's dancing with the boys�."but she loves only
me." Everywhere he looks, there she is. There is a hopefullness in Rick's voice�a positive sound, but then almost a desperation too--
"Yeah she's with me tonight�" Then, "I guess you did what you had to do to survive. I'm pretty sure I'm not angry anymore
baby."
What happened? Only he knows�but whatever it was, he's over it now (ACCEPTANCE). He wants to heal & move on. The music and the guitar blends are sweet in this song! I like that distinct drum symbol right before the chorus kicks off again towards the end! Maybe I do hear a slight similarity to Jessie's Girl in some of the guitars, toward the end of the song. Again, I'm not sure it's the same. Either way, this song has a life of it's own for me. I think it's another peek at a man who wants so much to be needed & loved, and who, as so many of us�has fears of losing that love to someone else. I think he ended the song as beautifully as he started it---"I wish I was invisible." He wants to be with her, and be the object of her desire. This song feels very basic musically, but when I look to the deeper meaning of the lyrics, this song just touches my heart! Rick, you did it again!
- Kelley Pearson
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