Ignore the Background Vocalist

Pay attention to the woman singing.

And the words.

6'1
by Liz Phair

I bet you fall in bed too easily
With the beautiful girls
who are shyly brave

And you sell yourself
as a man to save

But all the money
in the world is not enough

I bet you've long
since passed understanding
What it takes to be satisfied

You're like a vine
that keeps climbing higher

But all the money in the world
is not enough

And all the bridges blown away
keep floating up

It's cold
And rough

And I kept standing six-feet-one
Instead of five-feet-two

And I loved my life
And I hated you

It's cold out there
And rough

And I kept standing six-feet-one
Instead of five-feet-two
And I loved my life
And I hated you



If you need Cliff's Notes, here they are.

"6'1"" gets Liz Phair's classic Exile in Guyville album off to a cracking start, both rocking hard and exploring some of the themes of duplicity and sexuality that are delved into throughout the record. Much was made of the album supposedly working off the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street for much of its inspiration, and while frankly the similarities between the two aren't terribly obvious, "6'1"" is somewhat similar to vintage Stones in its straight-ahead riff-driven rock.

"6'1"" has a somewhat greater pop flavor than early-'70s Stones, though, and Phair's vocals, sometimes bolstered by backup harmonies from Brad Wood, are certainly more winsome than Mick Jagger's. Like much of the material on Exile in Guyville, the song deals straight-up with sexual conflicts, apparently directed at a six-foot-one man who sleeps around without much satisfaction.

What makes the song more complicated and hence more interesting, though, is the chorus, where it's implied the singer's been one of his lovers, forcing herself to stand six-foot-one instead of her actual five-foot-two. That in turn implies she's tired of forcing herself to be someone she's not in that relationship, given a vicious twist of the knife with the declaration of how she loved her life, but hated the guy. Beyond the lyrics, musically the chorus is quite infectious, especially in the way Phair draws out and lingers upon syllables on the line "it's cold and rough."