Pink Poogle Toy Forum

Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” is one of the most baffling pieces of music of the modern age. It’s got something to do with cheerleaders—that much is clear, judging from the chanting and the marching band that’s honking and tooting in the background. Beyondthat, good luck deciphering the song’s ambiguities. We were so vexed by the mystery that is “Hollaback Girl” that we have devoted countless hours to its study. Our conclusions are below. The first thing you should know, though, is that Gwen is not singing “I ain’t no Harlem fatgirl”—at least, we don’t think she is.

Uh huh, this my shhh
Gwen is introducing us to her shhh.

All the girls stomp your feet like this
This talk of shhh and stomping has nothing to do with actually stepping onfeces. But what does it mean? From a reading of the later text, we can conclude that the song takes place in the world of high schoolathletics, and that Gwen is apparently leading the girls in acalisthenics exercise. The “shhh,” we surmise, is what she calls the exercises she’s teaching the other girls.

A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that here, Gwen exhorts the girls to try harder as they jog around the track, reminding them that physical fitness is “not just gonna happen,” but must be worked at.

Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
These lines are the most confusing, but their meaning will become clearer later.

Oooh, this my shhh, this my shhh
Gwen repeats this four more times. She wants to make sure that we are well acquainted with her shhh.

I heard that you were talking shhh
And you didn’t think that I would hear it
Gwen has been the victim of some slanderous high school gossip, and she doesn’t appreciate it. Gwen is 35 years old sliding into MILF status atthis point, but we’ll grant her some poetic license.

People hear you talking like that, getting everybody fired up
So I’m ready to attack, gonna lead the pack
Gwen is going to round up a “posse” of her girlfriends and retaliate against the person who’s been talking “smack” about her.

Gonna get a touchdown, gonna take you out
Gwen is going to beat up the person who wronged her, after she completes the cheerleading routine that will inspire the football team to score a touchdown. Gwen has interesting priorities.

That’s right, put your pom-poms down, getting everybody fired up
It seems the entire cheerleading squad is going to beat up the person whospoke ill of Gwen; they have put down their pom-poms, and they are now “fired up” to exact swift and terrible vengeance on Gwen’s behalf.

A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Gwen is apparently the captain of the cheerleader squad; she is the girl who“hollas” the chants, not one of the girls who simply “hollas” them back. Given that the squad is preparing to beat somebody up on Gwen’s behalf, she’s picked a strange time to remind them that she is their leader and they are her sheep-like followers. Gwen obviously rules her squad with an iron fist.

Oooh, this my shhh, this my shhh [repeated four times]
Again with the shhh.

So that’s right dude, meet me at the bleachers
No principals, no student-teachers
Both of us want to be the winner, but there can only be one
So I’m gonna fight, gonna give it my all
We learn that it was a “dude” who gossiped about Gwen. She challenges himto a fight at the bleachers. If he imagines it will be a fair, one-on-one fight, he is sadly mistaken. Gwen and her afore mentioned “pack” will pounce on him like rabid wolves.

Gonna make you fall, gonna sock it to you
That’s right, I’m the last one standing, another one bites the dust
Gwen’s pack of furious cheerleaders leaves the boy a quivering, bloody heap behind the bleachers for the grounds keeper to discover the next day.

A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Having completed their ghastly work, Gwen’s squad members return to the fieldand resume their cheerleading activities, as Gwen reminds them once more that she is the boss and they are all her slaves.

Oooh, this my shhh, this my shhh [repeated four times]
By calling her exercise routines “shhh,” Gwen is showing us that for all her bravado, the character in this song secretly suffers from profound self-esteem issues. She is a complex antiheroine for an age of changing gender attitudes and expectations.

Let me hear you say, this shhh is bananas
B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Here, Gwen steps away from this bloody spectacle for a moment to comment onthe madness and ugliness of what we’ve just witnessed, and, by extension, the petty rivalries of high school in general. This shhh is bananas, Gwen tells us, and we can only agree. And lest we miss thepoint, she spells it out. And repeats it another three times.

A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl
I ain’t no hollaback girl
Back on the field, Gwen is still bullying the squad to carry out her routines. But now we see her in a new light, as the sad, lost creature she truly is.

Oooh, this my shhh, this my shhh [repeated four times]
As the song fades out, Gwen is left only with her “shhh,” the mindless exercises that bring her no comfort from the raging emptiness within. As much as she “hollas,” no one hears her cries for help.

- Greg Stacy, OC Weekly

...Ammer, that is most hilarious and brilliant thing I have read in a long time.

It's hard to remember how it felt before
Now I found the love of my life
Passes things, get more comfortable
Everything is going right

And after all the obstacles
It's good to see you now with someone else
And it's such a miracle that you and me are still good friends
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool
I know we're cool

We used to think it was impossible
Now you call me by my new last name
Memories seem like so long ago
Time always kills the pain

Remember Harbor Boulevard
The dreaming days where the mess was made
Look how all the kids have grown, oh
We have changed but we're still the same
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool
I know we're cool

Yeah, I know we're cool

And I'll be happy for you
If you can be happy for me
Circles and triangles
And now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend
So far from where we've been
I know we're cool
I know we're cool

C-cool, I know we're cool
I know we're cool

Doesn't seem as bad as Eminem, who released five singles in an even shorter span of time.

I guess she just wants to get 5 singles (I hear the one after "Cool" is "Harajuku Girls," but I may be wrong and she may just stop there) out before the next album comes around.

Eh...that's an ok song.

Is it just me, or does it seem like she's in a big hurry to release singles? She barely has them out for 2 months then releases a new one.