Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl

## Lyric video

**Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl** (stylized in all lowercase) is the fifth track from Olivia Rodrigo's sophomore studio album, *GUTS*. It was released on September 8, 2023 through Geffen Records.

## Background

In a September 5th, 2023 *Interview Magazine* interview with Phoebe Bridgers, Rodrigo explained how being homeschooled shaped her view of her social development:

> I was home-schooled and all of this stuff happened in my career, but then I really boiled my problems down and I’m like, ‘Oh, they’re just 19-year-old, 20-year-old problems in a different environment.’ If you speak honestly about any experience, then someone is going to find truth in it.
>
>

Olivia Rodrigo had a normal elementary school experience, but then she permanently switched to homeschooling in the seventh grade.

> I am a homeschool kid, so I’m so used to being in my house on my laptop, but with my parents. I always say that I never had a normal high school experience. I’ve always been homeschooled because I’ve been working.
>
>

## Theme

The angst of social anxiety roars in “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” the fifth track of *GUTS.* The garage rock cut delves into Olivia’s struggles to socialize and “fit in” with her peers. The song’s title alludes to the common *albeit faulty* notion that homeschooled children are socially stunted.

The nostalgic lyricism describes the social fumbles of her adolescent years: tripping, stumbling on words and making simple mistakes.
When speaking with *Rolling Stone*, Rodrigo revealed that she named this track after Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man”.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

Cat got my tongue

And I don't think I get along with anyone

Blood runnin' cold

I'm on the outside of the greatest inside joke

And I hate all my clothes

Feels like my skin doesn't fit right over my bones

So I guess I should go

The party's done, and I'm no fun, I know, I know

I know, I know

**[Chorus]**

I broke a glass, I tripped and fell

I told secrets I shouldn't tell

I stumbled over all my words

I made it weird, I made it worse

Each time I step outside, it's social suicide

It's social suicide, wanna curl up and die

It's social suicide

**[Post-Chorus]**

Ah, ah, ah

**[Verse 2]**

I laughed at the wrong time, sat with the wrong guy (Uh-huh)

Searchin' "how to start a conversation?" on a website (How to flirt?)

I talked to this hot guy, swore I was his type

Guess that he was makin' out with boys, like, the whole night (Oh)

Everythin' I do is tragic (Oh)

Every guy I like is gay (Oh)

The morning after I panic (Oh)

Oh, God, what did I say? (Oh, oh, oh)

**[Chorus]**

I broke a glass, I tripped and fell

I told secrets I shouldn't tell

I stumbled over all my words

I made it weird, I made it worse

Each time I step outside, it's social suicide

It's social suicide, wanna curl up and die

It's social suicide, yeah, when I'm alone, I'm fine

But don't let me out at night, it's social suicide

It's social suicide

**[Post-Chorus]**

Ah, ah, ah

Ah, ah, ah

**[Chorus]**

I broke a glass, tripped and fell

Told secrets I shouldn't tell

Stumbled over all my words

Made it weird, then made it worse

Each day that I'm alive, it's social suicide

It's social suicide, wanna curl up and die

It's social suicide

It's social suicide, don't let me out at night

I'm shocked I'm still alive, it's social suicide

**[Post-Chorus]**

Ah, ah, ah

**[Outro]**

Thought your mom was your wife (Ah)

Called you the wrong name twice (Ah)

Can't think of a third line (Ah)

La-la-la-la-la-la (Ah)

La-la-la-la-la-la (Ah)

La-la-la-la-la-la (Ah)

La-la-la-la-la-la, ugh

## Navigation

 Released