"Girlfriend in a Coma" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr.

Inspired by the song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", "Girlfriend in a Coma" features a lilting acoustic guitar line performed by Marr and lyrics about a hospital-bound lover sung by Morrissey.

"Girlfriend in a Coma" was inspired by Bob and Marcia's version of the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black".

Marr later spoke positively of the song, commenting in 1993, "Over the last few years I've heard 'Girlfriend in a Coma' in shops and people's cars, and I'm always surprised by how good it sounds.

[5] Armond White of Rolling Stone calls "Girlfriend" a song about AIDS which responds "to the crisis that took the lives and broke the hearts of so many friends and lovers" during the 1980s.

[9] The music video, which was directed by Tim Broad, featured clips from the 1964 film The Leather Boys—as stated by White, the scene present in the music video depicts "a young man (Colin Campbell) who marries too soon and faces doubts about his masculinity, egged-on by his equally immature wife (Rita Tushingham)".

[6] Morrissey was hesitant to take part in the videos, but was implored by Rough Trade's Geoff Travis to participate in order to boost the album's singles.

David Browne of Rolling Stone praised the song's "bright acoustic guitars" for "add[ing] a folksy grace" to the track.

[11] Tim DiGravina of AllMusic named the song as a highlight of Strangeways, stating, "Punchy and fun, yet sad and tender, 'Girlfriend in a Coma' is a gleaming, romantic treat from a band crafting brilliant, genre-defining music in the turmoil of its dying days.

[2] Consequence ranked the song as the band's 23rd best, writing, "there's something so appealing about how Marr's upbeat composition clashes with the blacker-than-black comedy of Morrissey's lyrics.