Taking Apart "Soup Girl"

This article is part of a series on my new collection of songs, "Life Is Worth Living."

As they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

When I lived near Hamden, CT, I'd often walk past a little shop whose name just sounded like a song title. So writing Soup Girl was inevitable.

Listeners have compared it to The Monkees, and that's spot on. While writing it, I specifically had this song, sung by the Monkees' frontman, in mind. Hence the British accent.

Listen to Soup Girl here:

Let's take Soup Girl apart. From the very beginning I try to take full advantage of food-themed wordplay:

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen

That's my advice to you, my friend

Some like it hot, some are too cold

Some like to sing the songs of old, oh

The chorus uses the gimmick of singing "girl" after "oo"-rhyming words:

Soup girl, standing there with your soup, girl

You make it super easy to love you

Oh, I love you

Soup girl, I've already thought it all through, girl

I'll make your dreams come true, girl

That's what I'm gonna do girl

More food wordplay in the second verse:

Hey good lookin'

Can you tell me what's cooking

In this little shop that you've set up?

I'm impressed by your dedication to bring your soup to the world

By everything you do, girl

After another chorus, we reach the bridge. If you listen closely you can hear me singing backup vocals inspired by the classic doo wop Shoop Shoop Song, but in this case it's "soup shop, soup shop" instead of "shoop shoop" or "doo wop":

When I saw you in your soup shop

You could have seen my jaw drop

And though you were a jaw breaker

You were no heartbreaker, no, no, no, no ,no

What would a romantic song about soup be without a reference to Italian wedding soup?

Let's not go home girl

Why don't we fly straight to Rome, girl?

It'll be the perfect setting

We'll have the perfect Italian wedding

Oh, soup girl

If you're ever feeling aloof, girl

Just keep me in the loop girl

Keep me in the loop girl, soup girl

And there you have it. Follow me on Twitter as I continue to release songs in the Life Is Worth Living series.