We don’t always review songs months after they’ve been released. But we do when they’re in the top 10 on YouTube Charts and when they begin ranking all over the world. The song I’m referring to is “abcdefu” by an up-and-coming artist named GAYLE.
For those of you who haven’t yet heard this single by the 17-year-old Nashville-based singer, this isn’t her first, as she started releasing music at 15. But it is the first to reach millions on TikTok and Instagram Reels.
This track is an earworm and it’s all about GAYLE expressing exactly how she feels post-breakup… with a ton of profanity to add to her emotions.
GAYLE explains that she tried to be nice post-breakup, and truly wanted to…
…but that didn’t last long. GAYLE makes it clear that she is completely over everything associated with her ex-boyfriend: “F— you and your mom and your sister and your job/And your broke-a– car and that s— you call art/F— you and your friends that I’ll never see again/Everybody but your dog, you can all f— off.”
And these lines, paired with others that express her disgust and anger, are repeated over and over again.
This song is extremely catchy. It will get stuck in your head for days. But therein lies the problem. I, like most of us, have experienced the sort of teenage breakup that GAYLE documents in this track, and I still remember all of the emotions quite vividly.
However, none of that excuses what is actually being said here or the overall terrible attitude she portrays. Can you be upset and truly hurt after a breakup? Of course. But the lyrics don’t stop there. They take aim at every family member of the ex-boyfriend while mixing in so much profanity that oftentimes that’s all that can be heard.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
