There's The Girl

Album: Bad Animals (1987)
Charted: 34 12
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Nancy Wilson of Heart wrote this song with Holly Knight, who co-wrote their hit "Never" from 1985. It tells the story of a girl who has deep feelings for a guy who is head-over-heels for another girl who doesn't appreciate him - a classic love triangle. "Can you say that you don't want her anymore?" she asks him when he sees her.

    In a 2021 Songfacts interview with Knight, she told the story: "I had the melody and the chorus, and it took us a while to write those lyrics because we'd write a little bit and then we'd get distracted and she'd go on the road, so it was written over time. Sometimes, something gets lost in translation when it's written over time, and I'm very surprised and happy to say that the song ended up being really popular. I see some of the comments on YouTube, and people love that song. I get asked about it all the time."

    "I recently heard a story of what it meant to Nancy," she added. "It was my title but she had a personal experience with a friend that went through it, that had been in love with somebody and saw them with another girl. We really didn't talk about that, so when I read it I was like, 'OK, that's interesting.'"
  • Ann Wilson handles most of the lead vocals for Heart, but Nancy Wilson - the group's guitarist - sings lead on this one. The song was written specifically for Nancy to sing; Heart's first #1 hit was "These Dreams," a song Nancy sang that appeared on their previous album, Heart.
  • This was the third single from the Bad Animals album, following "Alone" and "Who Will You Run To." It was produced by Ron Nevison, who also worked on their previous album and helped create the sound that crossed them over to a huge pop audience in the '80s.
  • The music video has smoke, two Sphinxes, and some kind of cyborg drum kit. And also Nancy Wilson in tails. Directed by Jeff Stein, it's a classic early MTV video with lots of intriguing imagery that doesn't necessarily make sense.

Comments: 2

  • Jd BradshawAnother favorite song by Heart...
  • Rishav from BiharI want a beautiful girl
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Boy Bands

Boy BandsFact or Fiction

From NKOTB to 1D, how well do you know your boy bands?

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.