Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl
"Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from her second studio album, Guts (2023).
[3] She conceived the follow-up album, Guts (2023), at the age of 19, while experiencing "lots of confusion, mistakes, awkwardness & good old fashioned teen angst".
[8] 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.
[16] It drew a divided fan reaction, with some praising its relatability while others believed a lyric about Rodrigo accidentally liking gay men was insensitive and could be inferred as a reference to her ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett.
The Independent's Helen Brown described the song as "a solid wedge of American indie", and The Guardian's Alexis Petridis thought it had "a hint of grunge-era alt-rock".
[8][29] Rodrigo raps during the verses of "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl",[28][31] vocalizing in a "bratty" way, and she delivers the chorus in a breathless manner without pausing.
[8][27] Writing for Paste, Rachel Saywitz believed that the brash changes in the song's vocal styling represent Rodrigo's knowledge of the lyrics' absurdity.
[27] She repeats the lyric "It's social suicide" and lilts the words "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.
[a] The Line of Best Fit's Matthew Kim thought the song was less of a well-calculated political critique and more resembled a "stream-of-consciousness journal entry", and Clash's Alex Berry believed the lyrics offer wisdom and comfort while maintaining the relatable and confused voice of a young person navigating the world.
[31][41] Though Lucas Martins of Beats Per Minute considered it excessively dramatic, he believed it showcased Rodrigo's skill of bringing a ballad's emotionality to a song without that type of production.
[43] Sowing of Sputnikmusic believed the song seamlessly blends insightful comments with disarming humor, creating a satisfying emotional experience for the listener.
Petridis discussed the song amongst tracks that proved Guts had a harder sound than Sour, adding more live instrumentation while taking the latter as its starting point.
[29] The New York Times's Jon Caramanica believed it displayed how Rodrigo had not given into pressure to work with producers like Max Martin and pursued an intimate rock sound instead.
[7] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone placed "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" at the bottom of his September 2023 ranking of Rodrigo's discography.
[61] Rodrigo performed "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" live for the first time in an acoustic version at the Ace Hotel Los Angeles on October 9, 2023, in a concert exclusively for American Express cardholders.
[72] Rolling Stone's Tomás Mier believed they constituted a set which harkened back to Rodrigo's teenage years, and Consequence's Scoop Harrison called them a "one-two-three punch".
