Fangirl – English Dictionary: 3 things people really mean when they say “This is my song!!”

Greetings, fellow humans, and welcome to the beginning of a new series (or maybe just a single post) called Fangirl – English dictionary. This is an idea I had of reflecting on the words and phrases that fangirls/nerds/geeks/superfans use, and explaining them in a way that Normal People can understand. I’m hoping that this will be entertaining and also thought-provoking as we think about the things that we talk and think about on a somewhat (definitely) obsessive level. Enjoy!

This first entry in the Fangirl – English Dictionary is focused on the phrase “This is my song!!” To someone who doesn’t love music on the same level as a Fangirl, hearing this phrase referred to multiple songs may be confusing or irritating. So I’ve thought of three different things that we actually mean when we describe something as “our” song:

This is a song I really like

The first explanation for someone describing as song as “my song” is that they simply enjoy the song. Maybe it’s one of their favorite artists, and they love every piece of music they’ve ever created (cough, Adam Young). Maybe they like the music style, or there’s some choreography they like to do that goes with it, or maybe there’s some happy memory associated with it. Here’s an example of this type of song for me:

Sometimes a song you love can go from “I just really like this song” to “this song is literally my life” because of experiences that happen to you later on. Here’s an example of this for me:

This song feels like it’s talking to/about me

Another explanation behind the phrase “this is my song!!” is that the person who says it feels that the song is talking to or about them. This means that the song’s lyrics describe their personality or something that they like to do. It can be a single phrase in a song that can set off this type of relationship to it and trigger this definition. Here’s an example of this for me:

This song tells my story better than I can

This last explanation is the deepest on the list: it means that, on some deep emotional level, the song described as “yours” matches with your past or present experiences. These are the songs that speak most deeply to our hearts and minds, and that we’re most likely to define as ours. Here’s an example of this for me:

Some of these songs are so meaningful to me, I’ve written entire posts about them! Here are some of my favorites:

• Owl City – This is the Future
• Adele – Remedy
• Bastille – Joy
• Imagine Dragons – Next to Me
• Kacey Musgraves – Butterflies

I hope you were entertained by this first entry in the Fangirl – English dictionary. If you consider yourself a fangirl/fan-person, or if any part of this post resonated with you, I’d love to know: What songs do you consider “yours”? If you’re not a Fangirl, consider asking someone you know what they mean the next time they say, “This is my song!!” You may just find out something new about them, and give them a much-appreciated opportunity to talk about the things they love most in the process.

Happy fangirling!