ballad of a homeschooled girl

"Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl" is a '90s-style alt-rock cut that delves into Olivia Rodrigo's discomfort and anxiety in social situations.

Rodrigo made the jump to homeschooling in seventh grade because of her acting career. The title plays on the idea that homeschooled kids are socially awkward. "I went to school on set, on my little laptop, from the age of 12," she told the BBC. "At the time, I didn't realize how strange it was but, looking back, it's a unique way to grow up."

Rodrigo describes a series of social blunders, from breaking glasses to spilling secrets she shouldn't have. She dubs these mishaps "social suicide." Each time I step outside, it's social suicide It's social suicide, wanna curl up and die It's social suicide, yeah, when I'm alone, I'm fine But don't let me out at night, it's social suicide It's social suicide Remember the 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls? Yeah, that movie coined "social suicide" to describe any move that could wreck your rep. Take, for instance, the iconic moment when Regina George, the ultimate mean girl, dishes out some advice to the insecure Cady Heron. She warns Cady that joining the Mathletes would spell disaster for her social life. "No, no, no. You cannot do that! That is social suicide." Cady had just made the switch to a public high school after being homeschooled her entire life in Africa.