[Explicit]
Introduction
I initially discovered Girl in Red not too long ago when her album chapter 1 was gaining popularity. Her music is upbeat, yet relatable and has an overall enjoyable vibe. She gave so many people someone they could really relate to. She also gives them something be to a part of, when listening to her music, many people that identify as WLW (or women loving women), feel connected and understood. Her song Summer Depression struck me as the most thought provoking on the album.
Background
Girl in Red, or Marie Ulven, was born in Oslo, Norway. She was born on February 16, 1999, and she is 21 years old. Girl in Red is most widely known for her WLW and LGBTQ+ songs, where she dives into the love and struggles that she faces as a lesbian. She gives many young queer people the outlet they need to feel connected to their larger community. Her most famous song is Girls, from the same album, chapter 1. When Marie was young, her parents encouraged her to perform in front of some friends and family. When she was on stage, she froze up. From that moment, Marie thought that she wouldn’t be able to work in the industry, let alone be an icon for so many people. Marie says that no specific artist particularly inspired her style.
She just loved the idea of creating something that was solely hers.She does, however, hope to one day collaborate with King Princess and other queer artists. The main message that she hopes people take from her music is "be gay and loud!"
The song
Summer Depression came out with the rest of the songs on the album chapter 1 in September of 2018. Girl in Red writes and produces all of her own music, including this song. She taught herself to write, play, and produce at a young age.
The song's name gives away the general theme; the song discusses Seasonal Affective Disorder, a mental illness which causes depressive symptoms during a particular time of year.. The lyrics in the song tell a more in-depth story when analyzed.
Analysis
"Teenage suicidal,
Why girls?
Emotional
Social anxiety"
These lyrics display the lack of sympathy, respect, and understanding surrounding mental health, especially in teens. These lyrics also show how people can generalize groups based on assumption, although mental illnesses continue to be romanticized in the media, thus making depression and anxiety a subtle trend, many teens and adults experience depression, even if it is in fragments, like summer depression. So people that really do have these mental illnesses need compassion and understanding.
"No one knows I cry in my sleep
Waking up feeling like shit
It's a normal thing to feel like this"
In this part of the song, Girl in Red alludes to how many people struggle with being emotionally vulnerable, whether with their friends or family. A common struggle for people, especially teens, is hiding or concealing their real feelings and emotions. Also, these feelings are so normalized that people think that they do not need to talk about them or need professional help in more extreme cases. Girl in Red expresses how she wants people to know that they’re not alone.
"Summer depression comes every year
I just want to disappear".
Lastly, these lyrics talk about Marie questioning herself and wanting to disappear. These words have become too common. Wanting to disappear is something many hear and say daily, these feelings can lead to real problems that people need to be open about.
Conclusion
Before really analyzing this song, I truly believed that it was relatable to a wider audience. I’m now realizing that this kind of thinking is what the song refers to as harmful and gives people the wrong idea, that these feelings are made up or exaggerated. When people that have seen mental illness romanticized believe that to be relatable or seen as real, they need to be depressed or have anxiety, the way that people perceive those mental illnesses change drastically. Instead of getting help when it's needed, the mental instability is normalized and therefore, people that really feel this way believe that there is nothing that anyone can do because it’s so common. Judgements and assumptions are put on these people who are really struggling for the pure lack of understanding.
Bibliography
Diy. Get To Know... Girl In Red, DIY, 30 Nov. 2018,
diymag.com/2018/11/27/get-to-know-girl-in-red-interview.
“Girl in Red – Summer Depression.” Genius, 16 Feb. 2018,
genius.com/Girl-in-red-summer-depression-lyrics.
Aquino, Tara. “No Mixed Signals: An Interview With Girl in Red.” Complex,
Complex, 14 Feb. 2019, www.complex.com/pigeons-and-
planes/2019/02/girl-in-red-interveiw.
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