Elizabeth Clark Phair is an American singer and songwriter. Born in New Hav… Read Full Bio ↴Elizabeth Clark Phair is an American singer and songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career in San Francisco, California, but returned to her home in Chicago, where she began self-releasing audio cassettes under the name Girly-Sound. The tapes led to a recording contract with the independent record label Matador Records.

Phair's 1993 debut studio album, Exile in Guyville, was released to acclaim; it has been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Phair followed this with her second album, Whip-Smart (1994), which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and Whitechocolatespaceegg (1998). Ten years after the release of her debut, Phair's fourth album, Liz Phair (2003), released on Capitol Records, moved towards pop rock, earning her a mainstream audience but alienating critics.

After the release of her fifth album, Somebody's Miracle (2005), Phair left Capitol and released her sixth album Funstyle independently in 2010. In 2018, it was announced that Matador Records would be releasing a retrospective set for Phair's debut album Exile in Guyville which includes remastered recordings from her original Girly-Sound demo tapes. Phair released her seventh studio album, Soberish, in 2021.

Girls
Liz Phair Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You've been around enough to know
That if I wanna leave, you better let me go
Because I take full advantage
Of every man I meet

I get away almost every day
With what the girls call, what the girls call
What the girls call, the girls call murder

You've been around enough to see
That if you think you're it, you better check with me
Because I take full advantage
Of every man I meet

I get away almost every day

With what the girls call, what the girls call
What the girls call, the girls call murder

Overall Meaning

In Liz Phair's song "Girls! Girls! Girls!", she sings from the perspective of a woman who has a reputation for being promiscuous and using men to her advantage. The opening lyrics indicate that the singer is not to be underestimated, as she warns her partner that if he wants to leave her, he better do it quickly. The reason being, she will take full advantage of any man she meets. She is fully aware of her ability to manipulate and control men and seemingly, takes pleasure in doing so.

The refrain of the song is "I get away almost every day with what the girls call murder." This line possibly suggests that the singer's actions are considered immoral or murderous by other women, but the singer does not see it that way. She seems to take pride in defying societal norms and expectations placed on women to be demure and obedient. Throughout the song, the singer asserts her autonomy and independence while challenging the listener's preconceived notions about women and their sexual behavior.

Overall, "Girls! Girls! Girls!" is a provocative commentary on female sexuality, power dynamics, and gender roles. The song sheds light on the double standards that exist between men and women when it comes to sexual behavior and encourages women to assert themselves and their desires without fear of judgment or ridicule.

Line by Line Meaning

You been around enough to know
You have enough life experience to understand

That if I wanna leave you better let me go
If I want to end this relationship, you should allow me to do so

Because I take full advantage
I use every opportunity that comes my way to my advantage

Of every man I meet
I manipulate and benefit from every man I encounter

I get away almost every day
I am able to succeed in my schemes almost every day

With what the girls call
With what my female peers refer to as

What the girls call
What the girls call

The girls call murder
The act of my manipulation and deceit is known as murder by my female peers

You been around enough to see
You have enough experience with me to recognize

That if you think you're it
If you think you are the one in control

You better check with me
You should confirm with me whether or not this is the case