This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
How many days in a year?
She woke up with hope
But she only found tears
And I can be so insincere
Making her promises never for real
As long as she stands there waiting
Wearing the holes in the soles of her shoes
How many days disappear?
When you look in the mirror
So how do you choose?
Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
How many lovers would stay?
Just to put up with this shit day after day?
How did we wind up this way?
Watching the mouths for the words that we say
As long as we stand here waiting
Wearing the clothes of the souls that we choose
How do we get there today?
When we're walking too far for the price of our shoes
Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
But you never seem to run out of things to say
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
Well your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
This is the story of a girl
Her pretty face she hid from the world
And while she looks so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
When she smiles
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
How many days in a year?
She woke up with hope
But she only found tears
And I can be so insincere
Making her promises never for real
As long as she stands there waiting
Wearing the holes in the soles of her shoes
How many days disappear?
When you look in the mirror
So how do you choose?
Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
How many lovers would stay?
Just to put up with this shit day after day?
How did we wind up this way?
Watching the mouths for the words that we say
As long as we stand here waiting
Wearing the clothes of the souls that we choose
How do we get there today?
When we're walking too far for the price of our shoes
Your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
But you never seem to run out of things to say
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
Well your clothes never wear as well the next day
And your hair never falls in quite the same way
You never seem to run out of things to say
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
This is the story of a girl
Her pretty face she hid from the world
And while she looks so sad and lonely there
I absolutely love her
This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles
When she smiles
song info:
Verified yes
Language
GenrePop, Alternative, Rock
Rank−
Duration00:03:09
Charts
Copyright ©Kobalt Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music
WriterJohn Charles Hampson
Lyrics licensed byLyricFind
Added
Last updatedMarch 5th, 2022
About"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" is a song recorded by American rock band Nine Days for the group's fourth studio album, The Madding Crowd (2000). The song was released as the lead single from The Madding Crowd in April 2000 through 550 Music and Epic Records. The song is an upbeat power pop anthem written by guitarist/vocalist John Hampson for his wife, who was his girlfriend at the time it was composed. Brian Desveaux, the group's other guitarist, also receives songwriting credit. The song represented a breakthrough for the band after years of attempting to interest major record labels. It was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia at Tree Sound Studios with producer Nick DiDia.
The song became the band's only hit single; it reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, and it peaked within the top ten in Canada and New Zealand. The song's music video was directed by Liz Friedlander and received airplay on MTV and VH1. The band's follow-up single, "If I Am", fared poorer than its predecessor, and Nine Days became one-hit wonders.
Nine Days was formed in Long Island, New York in 1994 by vocalist/guitarists John Hampson and Brian Desveaux. For much of the decade, the band built a following by self-releasing their first three albums—Something to Listen To (1995), Monday Songs (1996), and Three (1998)—while performing frequently. The band struggled to get signed by a major label; talent scouts were reluctant as they did not hear a "hit" in their sound. "It can get very discouraging when you're giving everything you've got and you're not quite getting there. But we always felt we were inching our way along so we just kept at it," said Hampson in a later interview. They put together an album to shop around to labels composed of their best songs, to little interest. Frustrated, they continued to write before Hampson wrote "Absolutely". They recorded a three-song demo and were signed to 550 Music (then known as Sony 550 Music) in February 1999.
"Absolutely" ended up being the band's only hit single, marking their status as one-hit wonders. "If it all ends next week, at least I'll be able to get my truck fixed up or get a new one. But if nothing, at least we accomplished this," Hampson said at the time of the song's success.
The song was written by the band's vocalist/guitarist, John Hampson in August 1998, in an attempt to write in an edgier style. Though he "exaggerated things and used tons of figurative language to express something," Hampson confirmed in a 2003 interview with Impose that it was written for his wife, Teresa Savino, who was his girlfriend at the time it was composed. Its genesis stemmed from an argument the two had prior to a concert the band was playing in Long Island. After their fight, he "saw her talking to someone across the room, and she started laughing. I realized that as much as she aggravates me, I absolutely love her when she smiles." It was also inspired by Hampson's uncertainty about getting married: "I just wasn't ready. I was basically stalling her and making her cry. I was good at that."
Hampson picked up a guitar and worked out the song's chorus and chords in 15 minutes. He later completed the bulk of the song in one night, which was unusual for him. "I don't know where it came from, but everything was about a true feeling." The song first appeared as a demo on Bootleg '98, a promotional CD by radio station WLIR, who were early supporters of the band. After the band's record deal, it was re-recorded for its appearance on The Madding Crowd by producer Nick DiDia at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
The song's music video was shot by director Liz Friedlander in Los Angeles, California. It was the band's first music video, and received airplay on MTV and VH1.
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" was the band's biggest single, and it charted worldwide on multiple music charts. In the U.S., it first debuted at number 25 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in the issue dated April 15, 2000; in the intervening weeks, the song rose to peak at number 10 on that chart on May 27, 2000. It reached number six on the magazine's all-genre Hot 100 chart on July 22, 2000, and number five on the Hot 100 Airplay ranking one week later (which only measured radio airplay). It was a number one hit on the Mainstream Top 40 chart on August 12, which ranked the most popular songs being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations. On August 26, it reached its peak on the Adult Top 40 Tracks chart at number two, which measured more adult-oriented alternative rock and mainstream pop. It was the 35th best-performing single in the U.S. in 2000, according to Billboard. The single peaked the highest in Canada, reaching number three on the all-genre Top Singles chart; it also hit number 14 on the Rock/Alternative rankings.
Internationally, it was also the group's biggest hit. It fared best in New Zealand, where it reached number seven; it ranked as the 39th best-selling single of 2000 in that country. In nearby Australia, the song was also a hit, reaching number 31. It performed near the bottom of singles charts in other territories. In Scotland, it reached number 67; in the Netherlands, number 75. In the United Kingdom, the single only made an appearance for one week at number 83 on the UK Singles Chart dated October 10, 2000. In Brazil, it ranked lowest at number 85. Because of the success of the song, it made an appearance on 2000 compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 5 in the U.S.. In 2015, Billboard ranked it the tenth most popular song of the summer from 2000. By June 2004, the song had accumulated over 400,000 spins on radio in the U.S., and it received a BDS Certified Spin Award.
The song was covered by the band Four Year Strong for their cover album Explains It All (2009).
The song became the band's only hit single; it reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, and it peaked within the top ten in Canada and New Zealand. The song's music video was directed by Liz Friedlander and received airplay on MTV and VH1. The band's follow-up single, "If I Am", fared poorer than its predecessor, and Nine Days became one-hit wonders.
Nine Days was formed in Long Island, New York in 1994 by vocalist/guitarists John Hampson and Brian Desveaux. For much of the decade, the band built a following by self-releasing their first three albums—Something to Listen To (1995), Monday Songs (1996), and Three (1998)—while performing frequently. The band struggled to get signed by a major label; talent scouts were reluctant as they did not hear a "hit" in their sound. "It can get very discouraging when you're giving everything you've got and you're not quite getting there. But we always felt we were inching our way along so we just kept at it," said Hampson in a later interview. They put together an album to shop around to labels composed of their best songs, to little interest. Frustrated, they continued to write before Hampson wrote "Absolutely". They recorded a three-song demo and were signed to 550 Music (then known as Sony 550 Music) in February 1999.
"Absolutely" ended up being the band's only hit single, marking their status as one-hit wonders. "If it all ends next week, at least I'll be able to get my truck fixed up or get a new one. But if nothing, at least we accomplished this," Hampson said at the time of the song's success.
The song was written by the band's vocalist/guitarist, John Hampson in August 1998, in an attempt to write in an edgier style. Though he "exaggerated things and used tons of figurative language to express something," Hampson confirmed in a 2003 interview with Impose that it was written for his wife, Teresa Savino, who was his girlfriend at the time it was composed. Its genesis stemmed from an argument the two had prior to a concert the band was playing in Long Island. After their fight, he "saw her talking to someone across the room, and she started laughing. I realized that as much as she aggravates me, I absolutely love her when she smiles." It was also inspired by Hampson's uncertainty about getting married: "I just wasn't ready. I was basically stalling her and making her cry. I was good at that."
Hampson picked up a guitar and worked out the song's chorus and chords in 15 minutes. He later completed the bulk of the song in one night, which was unusual for him. "I don't know where it came from, but everything was about a true feeling." The song first appeared as a demo on Bootleg '98, a promotional CD by radio station WLIR, who were early supporters of the band. After the band's record deal, it was re-recorded for its appearance on The Madding Crowd by producer Nick DiDia at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
The song's music video was shot by director Liz Friedlander in Los Angeles, California. It was the band's first music video, and received airplay on MTV and VH1.
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" was the band's biggest single, and it charted worldwide on multiple music charts. In the U.S., it first debuted at number 25 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in the issue dated April 15, 2000; in the intervening weeks, the song rose to peak at number 10 on that chart on May 27, 2000. It reached number six on the magazine's all-genre Hot 100 chart on July 22, 2000, and number five on the Hot 100 Airplay ranking one week later (which only measured radio airplay). It was a number one hit on the Mainstream Top 40 chart on August 12, which ranked the most popular songs being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations. On August 26, it reached its peak on the Adult Top 40 Tracks chart at number two, which measured more adult-oriented alternative rock and mainstream pop. It was the 35th best-performing single in the U.S. in 2000, according to Billboard. The single peaked the highest in Canada, reaching number three on the all-genre Top Singles chart; it also hit number 14 on the Rock/Alternative rankings.
Internationally, it was also the group's biggest hit. It fared best in New Zealand, where it reached number seven; it ranked as the 39th best-selling single of 2000 in that country. In nearby Australia, the song was also a hit, reaching number 31. It performed near the bottom of singles charts in other territories. In Scotland, it reached number 67; in the Netherlands, number 75. In the United Kingdom, the single only made an appearance for one week at number 83 on the UK Singles Chart dated October 10, 2000. In Brazil, it ranked lowest at number 85. Because of the success of the song, it made an appearance on 2000 compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 5 in the U.S.. In 2015, Billboard ranked it the tenth most popular song of the summer from 2000. By June 2004, the song had accumulated over 400,000 spins on radio in the U.S., and it received a BDS Certified Spin Award.
The song was covered by the band Four Year Strong for their cover album Explains It All (2009).
Album Details
![Nine Days - The Madding Crowd [2000]](https://cdn.lsistatic.com/img/pixel.gif){kind=tracking}