LogFAQs > #956513159

87. Mitski Your Best American Girl (2016)
from the album Puberty 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hDHm9MD0I

Key lyrics:
Your mother wouldnt approve of how my mother raised me
But I do, I finally do

Your Best American Girl starts so quietly that I instinctually pump up the volume before processing what song came on. This is an effective enough trick that two other songs in my top 100 do the same. Yet the quiet beginning here plays a more meaningful part in the context of the lyrics. With a Japanese mother and American father, Mitski struggled to find her place in the world. This quiet beginning is an elegant method of representing her sense of lacking a voice.

As the song progresses through the first two verses, the volume slowly grows louder. Her lyrics focus more on her lover than herself, only undercutting her place in the relationship. The instrumentation plays a huge part, starting off with an acoustic guitar alone. The drums come in right as she closes out the first verse. After a slow build, Mitski skips directly to the payoff with the chorus. The acoustic guitar is replaced with a grunge-worthy electric riff. Continuing to play with volume, Mitski briefly pulls back for the bridge, only to again unleash a wall of noise upon us.

The slight turn in lyrics is just as powerful. At first, Mitski only thinks she approves of her mother. By the end, she firmly asserts her approval. Your Best American Girl is all about finding ones voice, and every inch of it reinforces that idea. Yet after all this noise, Mitski saves her final punch for the quieting outro. She again expresses her doubt, the acoustic guitar returning to close everything out. This is a powerful anthem for self-acceptance, but Mitski acknowledges that true acceptance is a process.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/