‘Speak to a Girl,’ by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill is all about RESPECT
Country music’s power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are back with “Speak to a Girl.” The couple have turned to a new chapter as they sing about something other than their undying love for each other: truth, honesty, and respect when speaking to a lady. The message of the single is personal for the two as they are parents to three young women. McGraw and Hill are giving advice to any person wanting to date their daughters.
Hill starts off with a clever opening line: “She don’t give a damn ‘bout your Benjamin Franklin’s/ She wants Aretha.” Alluding to the fact that Aretha Franklin was right after 50 years — It’s about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Her vocal is airy and restrained, which is not her strength — but it works, in a motherly-advice kind of way.
The soft vocal complements the simple three-piece arrangement of an organ, and acoustic and electric guitars which set the achy melody. Mid-way through the first verse, a subtle bass drum and cymbal joins the arrangement and slowly builds to the chorus yet still maintains the subdued composition.
During the second verse, where McGraw takes the lead, a modest bass line along with a more pronounced drum and string section adds fullness to the track. There’s a grittiness in McGraw voice which suits the stern fatherly advice he dishes out about truth and honesty. “She just wants you to say what you mean/ and to mean everything that you’re saying,” he sings.
The two join forces in the second chorus and their harmonies sound just as fresh as 1997, when McGraw and Hill sang their first duet together, “It’s Your Love.” Their voices take you on a musical journey back to when they were young and in love, while the message brings you to their life as parents.
Hill’s vocals shine during the bridge as her voice soars a few octaves higher, emphasizing the words, “speak to, speak to her.” She may be 49 years old, but Hill proves her voice is still the gold standard of country music.
It’ll be interesting to see what type of commercial success “Speak to a Girl” will have. It follows McGraw’s 2016 hit “Humble and Kind,” written by Lori McKenna, which won a 2017 Grammy for Best Country Song. Both songs offer a timeless message — one is about humility, and the other emphasizes that words matter when it comes to relationships.
Whether this is a trend McGraw and Hill will continue on their upcoming collaborative album, due later this year, remains to been seen. The song may strike some as too preachy. But if the two want to preach, we ought to listen. Songs on the radio today treat women like sex objects, and it’s refreshing to hear a song that talks about respecting them. If only there were more.
