Hey! You! The Case of Avril Lavigne

This past summer, Avril Lavigne was accused of plagiarizing The Rubinoos song “I Want to be Your Boyfriend” with her hit single “Girlfriend”. The Rubinoos, who were a popular band in the 70’s, state “the lyrics, the tempo, the beat are identical”. However, Avril went on to claim she “had never heard the song her life”. The question is: who do we believe?

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Personally, I believe Avril was far from plagiarizing the Rubinoos. Although there were similarities between the tempo and the lyrics, there was definitely not enough proof for her to be found guilty. The Rubinoos took this case way out of hand and acted melodramatic as they described the two songs as “identical”.

Although the songs share the lyrics “Hey! Hey! You! You!”, they have completely different messages. In Lavigne’s hit “Girlfriend”, she sings about her feelings of dislike towards a particular boy’s girlfriend and how he would be better off with someone like herself.

“Hey! Hey! You! You!
I don’t like your girlfriend!
No way! No way!
I think you need a new one
Hey! Hey! You! You!
I could be your girlfriend”


However, the Rubinoos go on to sing,

“Hey, You, I wanna be your boyfriend,
Trying to say I wanna be your number one.
Hey, You, I wanna be your boyfriend,
Gonna make you love me before I'm done.”

expressing their excitement and “aw” towards a particular woman. The messages in both songs lack in similarities and give off completely different impressions.

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In addition, “Girlfriend” contains a single fast beat throughout the chorus, whereas the Rubinoos’ “I Want to be Your Boyfriend” contains a slower beat with a pattern of a single clap followed by a double clap in the background.

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In both instances, drums and guitars are used to make up the background music. Avril Lavigne uses an electric guitar categorizing her song as punk rock. However, The Rubinoos portray a country image by the sounds of their acoustic guitar. Avril also uses the drums to form the main beat of her music, whereas the Rubinoos use the sound of hands clapping to keep their song on track.

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Last but not least, a professional musicologist was brought into the case to determine if the songs were similar enough for plagiarism to have occurred. After both “Girlfriend” and “I Want to be Your Boyfriend” were studied, it was believed Avril did not plagiarize the Rubinoos’ song and she was said to innocent. Had there been enough proof for Avril to be found guilty, the professional musicologist would have found it.

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After all the hustle and bustle surrounding the copyright case, it seems as if nothing ever changed. That is except both Avril and the Rubinoos received huge publicity. An outcome I believe they both had planned on receiving once this “thought out” scandal hit the public.
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Artist not Available. “Avril Lavigne.” No Date. Online Image. Artist Lounge – Avril Lavigne. 12 March, 2008. <http://mog.com/music/Avril_Lavigne>
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Artist not Available. "Rubinoos." No Date. Online Image.
Everything You Wanted to Know about the Rubinoos. 12 March, 2008
<www.amazon.co.uk/.../dp/b000mtosdy>

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Author Unknown. "Girlfriend Lyrics" Elyrics.net. No Date. 12 March, 2008

<www.elyrics.net/avril-lavigne>.
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Author Unknown. "Rubinoos Lyrics" Elyrics.net. No Date. 12 March, 2008 <http://www.elyrics.net/rubinoosrubinoos>.