Released April 15, 1993 Genre Reggae
Hip-hop
R&B | Recorded 1993 Length 4:10 | |
Format CD single, CD maxi, 7" single
12" maxi, Cassette Label EastWest Records America, Atlantic | ||
"Girl I've Been Hurt" is a song by Canadian reggae musician Snow, released as the second single from his debut album, 12 Inches of Snow. Following the wildly successful single "Informer," "Girl I've been Hurt" peaked at #19 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and charted internationally as well.
Contents
Music and lyrics
While "Informer" documented a false murder charge and prison life, "Girl I’ve Been Hurt" presented a more sensitive theme, revolving around a breakup between a man and a woman in a relationship. The protagonist discovers that his "girl" has been cheating on him and he promptly dumps her and professes his desire to "find another lover." Whereas Jamaican patois-inspired lyrics conveyed the meaning of "Informer," "Girl I've Been Hurt" mixed Snow’s sensitive crooning with a short reggae bridge.
Music video
The original music video for the song features Snow pursuing scantily clad women in an isolated, winter terrain. By the end of the video, at an outdoor party that includes a snowball fight, Snow hooks up with "another lover." The video featured much of Snow’s early entourage, including his former DJ Marvin Prince, David Eng and the late EZ Steve Salem. In addition, a second "boggle" remix video of "Girl I’ve Been Hurt" appeared and featured the "Snow girls" audition.
Live performances
While performing at Sunsplash '93, Ninjaman asked Snow to sing "Girl I've Been Hurt," saying: "Come up and sing 'Girl I've Been Hurt' because I like that song. If you sing that and the audience doesn't go crazy, I'll shoot everyone in the crowd!"
As Reggae Report observed, "fortunately, the crowd went wild for his performance and Ninja never had to make good on his threats!"