While Browne has never directly answered the question, fans believe “That Girl Could Sing” was written about Valerie Carter, one of his background singers at the time, due to things he’s reportedly said in concert before performing this song.
The song peaked at #22 in the US in late 1980.
Carter p...
[Intro]
She was a friend to me when I needed one
Wasn't for her I don't know what I'd have done
She gave me back something that was missing in me
She could have turned out to be almost anyone
Almost anyone
With the possible exception
Of who I wanted her to be
[Verse 1]
Running into the midnight
With her clothes whipping in the wind
Reaching into the heart of the darkness
For the tenderness within
Stumblin' into the lights of the city
And then back in the shadows again
Hanging onto the laughter
That each of us hid our unhappiness in
[Chorus]
Talk about celestial bodies
And your angels on the wing
She wasn't much good at stickin' around, but
That girl could sing
She could sing
[Verse 2]
In the dead of night
She could shine a light
On some places that you've never been
In that kind of light
You could lose your sight
And believe there was something to win
You could hold her tight
With all your might
But she'd slip through your arms like the wind
And be back in flight
Back into the night
Where you might never see her again
[Chorus]
The longer I thought I might find her
The shorter my vision became
Running in circles behind her
And thinking in terms of the blame
But she couldn't have been any kinder
If she'd come back and tried to explain
She wasn't much good at saying goodbye, but
That girl was sane
That Girl Could Sing was written by Jackson Browne.
That Girl Could Sing was produced by Jackson Browne & Greg Ladanyi.
Browne told Rolling Stone in 1980:
“That Girl Could Sing” was a song about a real person I knew. Here I was, someone who didn’t believe in love but in my own personal freedom, my own personal search — and I found myself drawn to somebody who was free. So what did I do? I immediately became the pers...