often imitated - but never duplicated

Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend

"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"
~
The Rubinoos - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

"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 "

I know you all know Avril's song, but have you ever heard of The Rubinoos? If they really were alike wouldn't The Rubinoos song been as known as Girlfriend?
How alike are they to you? Five words are the same. Approximately 10% of the lyrics have the same words. Why's this such a big deal? In 2007 Avril Lavigne was being sued for ripping off one of a 1970s rock band founder Tommy Dubar's tune. Tommy Dubar and James Gangwer claimed that the two song have identical lyrics, meter and rhythm. In my opinion, there were completely different. The Rubinoos version of "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" is more slow, with a weak meter and less flow in rhythm. Avril Lavigne's version of "Girlfriend" is more fast with a strong meter and has a huge flow. If I was in Avril's position I would've known that i'm only being sued because my song was a hit, and they're just jealous. Avril herself co-wrote the song with Luke Gottwald and stated that she "never heard this song in my life" referring to "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend". She also believes that the two songs "have no musical similarities". Though both songs share the same lyrics and emotions she believes that not only these two songs do, but all songs. She quotes "As humans we speak one language." She strongly believed that she never ripped anyone off especially "The Rubinoos" who she never heard of before. She even mentions other artists with the same lyrical words and emotions to prove she has done nothing wrong such as "Hey Little Girl I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend by the Ramones. At this time many more songwriter's and producers started attacking Avril, she didn't just take it, she attacked back. She made it clear who she was, what she has accomplished and who she wants and who she doesn't want in her life. Agreeing with Avril, I believe she did nothing wrong. She did not break the copyright law. She copied five words, and didn't even know she was doing it! Though this issue has put Avril in an image change, not nearly as bad as other cases. The whole issue of plagiarism may cause her fans and anyone who listens to her music to think differently. To wonder, did she write the lyrics? or are they from another 1970s rock band? This isn't as bad as others, and she did eventually recover.