My boyfriend has one weird allergy - Train. The band. If he hears Train, he gets this thousand yard stare and starts to twitch until the song is over. We don't listen to Train in this house. And ninety-nine times out of a hundred, this is fine.
But I really like Meet Virginia. It's my secret Train song. I have a few theories as to why it landed in my psyche so firmly:
Album artwork looks like weird collage alt rock covers of the time, reminds me of Stunt by Barenaked Ladies in a nostalgic, comforting way
Song came out two years after "One Headlight" which also puts me into the same headspace as "Meet Virginia" despite being a totally different vibe
Came out when I was ten and was an early validator of my lack of femininity
It came out in March 1998 and was Train's debut single - a fact I just learned now when I looked up the song to get a little context on why it feels so different from the rest of Train's music. And I think this is the answer - it was their DEBUT SINGLE. Back when they were original and weird, before becoming more mainstream and palatable as many alt rock groups do. (That sentence felt illegal, but Meet Virginia is definitely alt rock).
Most love songs are about a woman's attractive and socially usable qualities - her femininity, her delicate nature, her hot and sexy after dark side, her beautiful girl next door energy.
Virginia, though she does own high heels, is a fucking weirdo by comparison.
"She doesn't own a dress / Her hair is always a mess / Catch her stealing, she won't confess / She's beautiful."
In the first stanza we hear about a non-dress wearing, messy-haired shoplifter - and she's beautiful.
"She never compromises" - something that goes against most messages that relationships and love are about compromise. Virginia will not be doing any compromising. She knows what she wants.
Or does she? Because "She wants to be the Queen" but then screams "I don't really wanna be the Queen." And later, "She wants to live her life" but then screams "I don't really wanna live this life."
I was ten years old when this single came out. Ten years old, and I knew Virginia was WEIRD, and also that she was having an EXISTENTIAL CRISIS. I think that's why I like her so much. As a tween, I was a tomboy. I didn't own a dress. My hair was always a mess. I would NEVER shoplift, so we didn't have that in common. But otherwise, I liked this offbeat lady. Virginia was a hero to me.
Her family also has a wide variety of occupations that go outside the norm. "Her daddy wrestles alligators / Mama works on carburetors / Her brother is a fine mediator for the President." Wow, so Virginia was raised by an alligator wrestler and a mechanic, likely believing she could be anything she put her mind to. After all, her brother works for the President - presumably of the United States. That's a pretty big deal.
I think Virginia feels pressure. She wants to be the Queen... but not really. She would give that all up. She is screaming so hard she has to hold her hair back. She doesn't want to live this life, whatever this life is.
The hot mess in me sees the hot mess in Virginia. I think she wanted to run away and have a simple life. She didn't want all those expectations.
Or maybe she's just made up and none of this matters. But it mattered to ten year old me. Something in this song really resonated with me.
"Hey Soul Sister" sucks though. I'll fight you about it.