Released: 2018
“Pictures of Girls” by Wallows is a contemplative piece about evolving relationships, personal growth, and the impact of fame. It captures nostalgia and propels introspection about how relationships morph as life changes.
Starting with the line, “I see the end, you wait for nothing,” the song kicks off with an evocative portrayal of seeing an end to a relationship before it has truly concluded. This suggests the narrator’s keen insight or mayhap, a tendency to anticipate heartbreak. When he sings “You and I, we grew up in the suburbs,” he paints a picture of shared pasts, innocent times saturated with shared memories. There’s a sense of yearning for simpler times when city life and fame were yet remote concepts.
As the lyrics progress to “Now you’re gone, the city’s down a number,” the loss becomes evident. The city feels emptier, underlining the impact of this individual’s departure on the narrator’s life. One can’t help but think about how fame, represented by the metonymy “the city”, can lead to a sense of alienation and loss.
When Wallows expresses, “I see you there, still shy, but smiling,” he reveals an enduring impression of this person, perhaps a reminiscence from their shared past. Their suburban roots are contrasted starkly with the chorus repeatedly echoing “You should be down in Hollywood.” The tinsel town represents a symbolic epitome of glamour, fame, and a life enormously different to their humble suburban beginnings.
The line, “I am hanging on to something real” acts as a poignant assertion of the narrator’s longing for authentic connections amidst a world of pretense. When Wallows croons “‘Cause pictures of girls are not for me,” he’s drawing a line between the superficial facades of relationships in a world dictated by limelight and his yearning for depth and genuineness. It’s a critique, a commentary on how fame can sometimes lead to an erosion of genuine relationships.
To sum up, “Pictures of Girls” offers a thoughtful, complex exploration of the impacts of fame on relationships, contrasting the convenience of superficiality versus the longing for authenticity. It’s about navigating abrupt life changes while holding onto fragments of a shared past, and it’s about poignant self-awareness in a world that often lauds the insincere.
