ballad of a homeschooled girl

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Lore & Background

Rodrigo and Nigro wrote "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" early on in the creation process of Guts, among a set of gleeful and uptempo songs. The song drew inspiration from the fact that Rodrigo was homeschooled as a teenager and missed out on a regular high school experience. Rodrigo announced the album title on June 26, 2023, and its lead single, "Vampire", was released four days later. On August 1, 2023, she revealed Guts's tracklist, with "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" as the fifth track. The song became available for digital download on the album, which was released by Geffen Records on September 8, 2023. It drew a divided fan reaction; some praised its relatability while others found a lyric about Rodrigo accidentally liking gay men insensitive. The following week, chain restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill referenced the lyric in an Instagram caption, replacing the word "gay" with "guac": "Every guy I like is guac", to which Rodrigo responded positively.

In Their Own Story

In a monologue format, Rodrigo recounts her embarrassing experiences at a party the previous night akin to a personal journal entry. She takes a self-deprecating tone and uses dark humor to cope with her social issues. In the first verse, Rodrigo details feeling out of place and disconnected and hating her clothes. She recalls breaking a glass, stumbling, and telling people more than she should have at the party. Rodrigo considers these incidents "social suicide[s]" which make her want to hide herself. In the second verse, she remembers making online searches to learn how to start a conversation and accidentally flirting with an attractive gay man, which is followed by her admission that most men she is attracted to are homosexual: "Everything I do is tragic, every guy I like is gay." In the outro, Rodrigo sings about mistaking someone's mother for their wife and calling them by the wrong name.

Reader's Guide

The song is 3 minutes and 23 seconds long. It was recorded at Amusement Studios and East West Studios in Los Angeles. Nigro produced the song, and he engineered it with Sam Stewart, Sterling Laws, Dave Schiffman, and Jasmine Chen. He played guitar, percussion, and programmed drums; Erick Serna and Stewart played electric guitar; Ryan Linvill played bass; and Laws played drums. Spike Stent mixed the song at SLS Studios in London, and Randy Merrill mastered it. Rodrigo raps during the verses, vocalizing in a "bratty" way according to Elle's Erica Gonzales, and she delivers the chorus in a breathless manner without pausing. She repeats the lyric "It's social suicide" and lilts "ah-ah's" during the post-chorus, which recalls bands like Everclear and Third Eye Blind and proves her affinity for 1990s alternative rock, according to Billboard's Jason Lipshutz. The song was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, marking Rodrigo's first Grammy nomination in a rock category. It reached the top 25 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Rodrigo performed "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and included it on the set list of her 2024–2025 concert tour, the Guts World Tour.

Did You Know?

• The song was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, marking Rodrigo's first Grammy nomination in a rock category.
• Rodrigo wrote the song with Dan Nigro, who also produced her debut album Sour.
• The song drew inspiration from the fact that Rodrigo was homeschooled as a teenager and missed out on a regular high school experience.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill referenced the lyric 'Every guy I like is gay' in an Instagram caption, replacing 'gay' with 'guac'.
• Rodrigo performed the song live for the first time in an acoustic version at the Ace Hotel Los Angeles on October 9, 2023.