Joe Nichols – “Gimmie That Girl”
Songwriters: Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip.
When an artist capable of transcendent moments like “An Old Friend of Mine” and the note-perfect rendering of Dement-via-Haggard heartbreaker “No Time to Cry” that graces Revelation sets out to have a radio hit, it’s usually pretty obvious. That’s the curse of being an adept interpreter of weighty material: when you opt for lighter fare, it’s clearly a matter of choice rather than a symptom of all-around incompetence.
Enter “Gimmie That Girl,” an inoffensive little ditty all about how beautiful a woman can be in those unguarded moments when she’s not even trying. It’s a nice enough sentiment, and one that certainly resonated with women and their adoring men alike when delivered by Sammy Kershaw as “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.”
But there’s an important (if subtle) difference between Kershaw’s 1993 hit and Nichols’ latest: where the former focuses on the woman and what she don’t know, the latter filters the same idea through a language of “gimmies.” In fact, the song is virtually swimming in gimmies: Nichols himself repeats the phrase 15 times, while back-up singers add repetitions of “gimmie gimmie gimmie that girl” behind the choruses.
The most straightforward reading is that he must really want her. Upon further examination, though, the repetitions of the request reveal a deeper truth: the song is ultimately more about the gimmie than it is about the girl.
So that when Nichols sings “Give me that girl with her hair in a mess/Sleepy little smile with her head on my chest/That’s the you that I like best/Give me that girl,” it seems less like a tribute to the woman herself and more like wishful thinking–a far-flung fantasy of compartmentalizing a person. He wants all the good, none of the bad. In truth, however, the girl who’s sweet in the morning is the same one that sometimes comes home like a raving lunatic after a difficult day at work. Nichols registers his request (15 of them, actually) for “the you that I like best,” but he can’t pick and choose. He has signed on for the whole woman.
At least, that’s the way relationships work in the real world. When you pretend otherwise, you’re ultimately just being selfish.
Gimmie a little more verisimilitude next time around, Joe.
Listen: Joe Nichols – “Gimmie That Girl”
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November 12, 2009 at 8:56 am Permalink
…more verisimilitude – couldn’t agree more.
November 12, 2009 at 9:50 am Permalink
Actually, the song is even creepier than that, since he wants a women who is a cheery morning person. Isn’t that one of the signs of sociopathy?
November 12, 2009 at 11:41 am Permalink
Focus groups of soccer moms and twenty something young women must have given the thumbs up on this one. I think all the female listeners will just imagine that Joe is crooning “gimmie” to them in the morning no matter how they look…
November 12, 2009 at 3:06 pm Permalink
Maybe this is because I absolutely love most anything the man sings, but I love this song. I hadn’t seen it in the light you mentioned, but now do. However, I feel like you’re kind of reaching here, and if your point can be put to this song, it’s more a reflection of society than its writers.
November 12, 2009 at 3:43 pm Permalink
Joe Nichols is another one of those artists that I love the voice, but rarely the songs. This is a very good analysis. The song’s loud too.
November 12, 2009 at 3:44 pm Permalink
I don’t think it’s reaching. It really makes sense, though I hadn’t thought of it on my own.
November 12, 2009 at 4:15 pm Permalink
I think it’s kind of reaching. He’s expressing a preference, not pretending that he’s defined everything his gal is.
November 12, 2009 at 6:24 pm Permalink
Yeah, but in expressing that preference he’s cordoning off a very small part of her whole identity as worthy of loving tribute, making this sort of self-involved as far as songs about other people go. For all their problems, similarly-themed songs like the Kershaw hit and Paisley’s “She’s Everything” are at least built on hooks that keep the focus more squarely on the woman.
November 13, 2009 at 9:26 am Permalink
I don’t feel like he’s saying that’s the only part of her that is worth loving, but that he doesn’t need all of what the world says is beautiful and lovable to.
November 15, 2009 at 1:26 pm Permalink
Come on Joe,
You love the trad stuff. I’ve seen you do Farewell Party live and you nail it. Stay off the mainstream stuff.
November 19, 2009 at 12:23 pm Permalink
I think your reaching! I think the underlying message says gimmie that girl when her gaurd isnt up! When you first wake up your vulnerable. Your hair is messed! You have no make up on! But by staying there, and not sprinting to the bathroom, your saying i feel completely comfortable with you! And again her actions speak for themselves when she’s in the kitchen! I dont know about yall but i have dated a few guys who i wouldnt dare dance around the kitchen in front of! Let alone sing! And to stormy if you dont wake up smiling next to your man then get a new one! Now to rick womens feelings shockingly dont work like men think they do! Im 20 something and yeah this song hits the “this is how i want to be loved” cord but that doesnt mean i want joe to sing it to me! He is cute but that doesnt mean he rows the ores on my dream boat! Looks fade with time! I want something real and attainable not a trumped up fantasy!
November 22, 2009 at 2:21 pm Permalink
His vocals sound dreadful on this. He sounds sleepy, emotionless, and even worse, pitch-corrected out the yin-yang. It almost sounds like he sang it a half-step too low and they tried to pitch it up to the right key, but kept missing by a quarter-step in either direction. I’ve never heard him sound so… mechanical.
January 18, 2010 at 1:51 am Permalink
I really don’t know about this “pretending” and “versawhatsit” business… Maybe step back and just take the song for what it is, a young man talking about that girl who can live that simple life, who can love without all the fancy sideshows that go along with so many relationships. Hey, I know that no girl will ever be perfect, but the kind of girl he’s singing about is the one you want because even when she’s not got the red dress and her hair up, she’s still the girl you want to love. I have to say, this is the kind of girl I’d want to spend my life with, and if you’re lucky enough to meet someone like this, like I have… keep her! I mean, it’s pretty much true, this song describes pretty much what makes a fun girl. So maybe you should be a little less of a nitpicking downer and just appreciate the song for what it is… a nice down-to-earth country love song that’s got a lot of meaning for a lot of young guys like me, and our girls. You know? Enjoy the song for what it’s worth, don’t pull any extra unnecessary meaning out of it.
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