Girl In The Bleachers

A song about being on the sidelines of the action, but observing everything.

I think almost every school has people everyone notices, and then there are the people quietly watching it all happen. I was definitely more comfortable being the second one.

I spent a lot of time observing. Watching friendships, first romances, breakups, victories and disasters play out around me. As a songwriter, that’s actually a great place to be because you notice the little moments other people miss. You start collecting stories without even realising you’re doing it.

Girl In The Bleachers is about that feeling of being on the edge of everything instead of in the middle of it. At the time, it sometimes felt lonely. Looking back, I realise those quiet afternoons sitting on the bleachers with a notebook probably taught me more about people than if I’d been the centre of attention.

The song isn’t about wishing I’d been someone else. It’s about realising there was strength in being the observer. While everyone else was worrying about Friday night’s game or who was dating who, I was imagining a life beyond my hometown and filling notebooks with songs that nobody else knew existed.

I think a lot of people grow up feeling invisible, especially at school. It can feel like everyone else has the exciting life while you’re just watching from the sidelines. But sometimes the people on the sidelines are the ones paying the closest attention. They’re the ones who remember the stories.

Whenever I sing Girl In The Bleachers, I think about the younger version of me who wasn’t sure where she fitted in. She probably would’ve been amazed to know that all those afternoons spent quietly watching the world would one day become the songs that connected me with so many other people.