Cornflake Girl

"Cornflake Girl"
Single by Tori Amos
from the album Under the Pink
Released	January 10, 1994 (UK) February 14, 1994 (AUS) May 5, 1994 (US)
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	5:06 (Album Version) 3:54 (Edit)
Label	Atlantic, EastWest
Writer(s)	Tori Amos
Producer	Tori Amos, Eric Rosse
Tori Amos singles chronology
"Crucify" (1992) "Cornflake Girl" (1994) "God" (1994)
Alternative covers UK CD single cover Music sample Cornflake Girl

"Cornflake Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos. It was released as the first single from her second studio album Under the Pink. It was released on January 10, 1994 by EastWest Records in the UK and on May 5 by Atlantic Records in North America. Two music videos were produced for the single as the original one was deemed too weird for American audiences.

Background

The song reached #4 on the UK singles chart, and was Amos' most successful international hit at the time. In Australia, the song peaked at #19,^[1] and was #35 in radio station Triple J's 1994 Hottest 100 poll, appearing on the compilation album of that year's Hottest 100.^[2] The song was also ranked in Blender magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born at #433.^[3]

Inspiration and meaning

The inspiration for "Cornflake Girl" came from Alice Walker's novel Possessing the Secret of Joy, about a young African woman going through the ritual of female genital mutilation. Amos was angered by the idea that a mother could subject her daughter to such a brutal act, and the song arose as an exploration of the idea of betrayal between women. In the song two factions of women are referred to: the "raisin girls" are "multicultural" and open-minded, while the "cornflake cirls" of the title are "narrowminded and full of prejudice".^[4]

The reference to cornflakes and raisins comes from their distribution in a box of breakfast cereal, implying that "raisin girls" are much harder to find than "cornflake girls". Amos has spoken in interviews about being referred to glibly as "the cornflake girl" due to the song's title being applied to her, when she considers herself a "raisin girl". (In concerts she has also said "cornfalkes" vs. "raisins" was a reference to which girls had ready access to marijuana, Tori herself being bereft of the substance.) The confusion is probably related to her 1987 commercial for Kellogg's Just Right,^[5] made before her widespread fame. Just Right includes both raisins and corn flakes, so the song and the cereal are related either through coincidence or intent.

Atlantic released a series of cornflakes boxes with picture of Amos on them to promote this. They are now collector's items.^[6]

Track listing

US CD Single

1. "Cornflake Girl" (Edit) – 3:54
2. "Sister Janet" – 4:00
3. "Daisy Dead Petals" – 3:03
4. "Honey" – 3:47

UK Limited Edition CD Single

1. "Cornflake Girl" – 5:05
2. "A Case Of You" – 4:38
3. "If 6 Was 9" – 3:59
4. "Strange Fruit" – 4:00

UK CD 2 / Australian / German CD Single (with different artwork)

1. "Cornflake Girl" – 5:05 (liner notes denote "Edit" by error)
2. "Sister Janet" – 4:00

   Piano Suite

3. "All The Girls Hate Her" – 2:23
4. "Over It" – 2:11

Music video

There were two different videos for "Cornflake Girl". The UK version was directed by Big TV!, two directors from the UK. Tori said that is based on The Wizard of Oz, except that Dorothy goes to Hell instead. This version was considered slightly too "strange" for American audiences and a second version was made, which was co-directed by Amos herself along with Nancy Bennett. The American video features Tori driving a truck full of girls around a typical American desert.

Cover versions

The song was covered by post-hardcore band Jawbox as a hidden track on their self-titled 1996 album,^[7] as well as by the band Tapping the Vein on the Tori Amos tribute album Songs of a Goddess.^[8] In 2007, after Amos had to pull out of an appearance on the Australian comedy program The Sideshow, musical comedy trio Tripod performed the song in her place.^[9]

The term "cornflake girl" also appears in the lyrics of the Billy Bragg song "Body of Water" from his 1991 album Don't Try This at Home with the line "Oh, to become a pearl / In the wordy world of the cornflake girl".^[10]

On March 25, 2010, British electronic musician Imogen Heap covered the song live in Australia. The performance was done per request by the winner of an online charity auction who paid about $4000 USD to win the item "VIP Experience Meet Imogen Heap + A Song Just For You".^[11]

Charts

Chart (1994)	Position
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100	7
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	12
U.K. Singles Chart	4
Australia ARIA Singles Chart	19
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	41
Dutch Singles Chart	26
Canadian Singles Chart	30
German Singles Chart	73
Irish Singles Chart	9

Notes

1. ^ Summary Of Tori's Chart Positions In Australia & The U.K., 30 June 2001.
2. ^ hottest 100 1994, Triple J.
3. ^ #433 The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born on Blender.com
4. ^ Quotes from interviews with Tori Amos.
5. ^ Tori Amos appears in a Kellogg's Just Right Commercial
6. ^ "Cornflake Girl". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2545. Retrieved 2009-03-03. 
7. ^ Hajari, Nisid: Music Capsule Review: Jawbox, Entertainment Weekly, July 26, 1996.
8. ^ Amazon.com: A Tribute To Tori Amos - Songs Of A Goddess
9. ^ The Sideshow, Episode 15. September 15, 2007.
10. ^ Lyrics: Body of Water, MTV.
11. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=fqNKwF18cq0