This anthem of empowerment is told through one girl’s passion and determination, which drives her forward in a chaotic world.
In a Billboard interview, Keys explained, “When I wrote ‘Girl on Fire,’ I knew I was writing it for that girl in the way back row who needed someone to tell her there’s nothing you can’t do, that nothing is impossible,”
The Song that Spawned a New Story
The content of the lyrics proved to be substantial enough to fill out an entire graphic novel for young adults. It’s a coming-of-age story about finding your inner fire when everything around you has been turned on its head.
“When Andrew and I came up with the idea of translating the song into a young adult graphic novel, I knew that I wanted it to be about a girl coming to realize the strength she’s always had. There’s a little Lolo in all of us – we all have the power inside to do what we never even thought we could.”
That Fateful Interview
The initial spark that led to the flame that created this hit was in an Essence magazine article written by Jeannine Amber, who wrote, “She was like a girl on fire.” The impact that these few words had on Keys was tremendous. She worked the sentence around into a title that she quickly decided she’d use for her next album.
“It’s about who you are as a woman standing in your own flame,” she told Entertainment Weekly.
In a SiriusXM interview, Keys said, “It just spoke to everything that I am feeling and was feeling at the time. It’s like that energy of finding your light, finding your space, being in your own really claiming your own path and everything. It spoke to everything.”
Of the writing process, Keys said it came quite naturally. In that same interview, she said, “I just needed to figure out how to write the words to it. So it took a while, and time passed, and I didn’t write it. I didn’t write it, but I knew it was going to come. And the day that it came, it happened in such an organic, great way.”
Keys explained her intent behind writing as such: “The intention of the song is really your own fire within, and it just so happens I’m a woman, so I personally had to say girl. But really, the intention of it is for everyone because it’s like finding just blazing your trail.”
Lyrical Breakdown
Although there are troubles innumerable in the world, this character in the song has the ability to rise above it all:
“She’s livin’ in a world and it’s on fire / Filled with catastrophe / But she knows she can fly away”
In the bridge, we learn that the people around this girl have noticed the passion in her eyes. Keys uses another fire analogy to illustrate it. They don’t suspect the confidence she lacks deep down inside, but in spite of this, she still intends to let her fire spread:
“Everybody stares as she goes by / ‘Cause they can see the flame that’s in her eyes / Watch her when she’s lightin’ up the night / Nobody knows that she’s a lonely girl / And it’s a lonely world / But she gon’ let it burn, baby, burn, baby”
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
She’s just a girl and she’s on fire
Hotter than a fantasy
Lonely like a highway
She’s livin’ in a world and it’s on fire
Filled with catastrophe
But she knows she can fly away
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh-oh, she got both feet on the ground
And she’s burnin’ it down
Oh-oh, she got her head in the clouds
And she’s not backin’ down
[Chorus]
This girl is on fire
This girl is on fire
She’s walkin’ on fire
This girl is on fire
[Verse 2]
Looks like a girl, but she’s a flame
So bright, she can burn your eyes
Better look the other way
You can try, but you’ll never forget her name
She’s on top of the world
Hottest of the hottest girls, say
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh-oh, we got our feet on the ground
And we’re burnin’ it down
Oh-oh, got our head in the clouds
And we’re not comin’ down
[Chorus]
This girl is on fire (Fire, fire)
This girl is on fire
She’s walkin’ on fire (Fire, fire)
This girl is on fire
[Bridge]
(Oh) Everybody stares as she goes by
‘Cause they can see the flame that’s in her eyes
Watch her when she’s lightin’ up the night
Nobody knows that she’s a lonely girl
And it’s a lonely world
But she gon’ let it burn, baby, burn, baby
[Chorus]
This girl is on fire (Fire, fire)
This girl is on fire
She’s walkin’ on fire (Fire, fire)
This girl is on fire
[Post-Chorus]
Oh-oh, oh, oh
Oh-oh, oh, oh
Oh-oh, oh, oh
Oh-oh, oh, oh
[Outro]
She’s just a girl and she’s on fire
