Music Friday: Carly Rae Jepsen Will Wear Your Guitar String as a Wedding Ring

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fun songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen plays the role of a jilted girlfriend who just won’t let go in her 2012 release, “Wedding Ring/Guitar String.”

In the song, Jepsen tells her ex that if he agrees to come back to her, she’s willing to seal the deal with a makeshift wedding ring.

Jepsen sings, “But if you cut a piece of guitar string / I would wear it like it’s a wedding ring / Wrapped around my finger / You know what I mean / You play my heart strings.”

Written by Jepsen and two collaborators, “Wedding Ring/Guitar String” appeared as the 11th track of Jepsen’s second studio album, Kiss.

Jepsen is best known for “Call Me Maybe,” the third track on that same album. That song’s worldwide success has been partly attributed to the complimentary words of fellow Canadian Justin Bieber, who tweeted that “‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen is possibly the catchiest song I’ve ever heard lol.” Jepsen’s hit went on to sell 20 million copies while charting in 34 countries. The song also led to major record deals.

While a guitar string wedding ring is unconventional, it’s not unheard of. A quick TikTok search will yield many videos of amateur jewelry makers offering tips on how to best weave guitars strings into a ring. Other commercial companies have guitar strings worked into the motif of alternative-metal wedding bands.

Back in September, Jepsen took to Instagram to reveal to her 2.6 million followers the non-traditional ring marking her engagement to Grammy Award-winning music producer Cole M.G.N. The ring featured a smoky-grey-blue gem — possibly a sapphire or spinel — prong set on a simple yellow gold band.

Born in Mission, British Columbia, in 1985, Jepsen developed a passion for musical theatre while in secondary school and was accepted at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, British Columbia.

After graduating, she had a tough time landing a job in theater so she made ends meet as a pastry shop assistant, barista and bartender.

Inspired by Sinead O’Connor’s rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Jepsen pursued a singing career.

She got her big break after placing third during Season 5 of Canadian Idol. The third-place finish earned her a spot on the Canadian Idol Top 3 concert tour and the rest is history.

Please check out the audio track of Jepsen performing “Wedding Ring/Guitar String.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Wedding Ring/Guitar String”
Written by Carly Rae Jepsen, Tavish Crowe and Josh Ramsay. Performed by Carly Rae Jepsen.

You were here
And then you left
Now there’s nobody, nobody

Now they’re all
Just second best
There’s nobody, nobody

So if you want me
I’ll be around
You’re a bird on the water
I’m a fish on the ground

Just hold me closer
Oh won’t you hold me down tonight

But if you cut a piece of guitar string
I would wear it like it’s a wedding ring
Wrapped around my finger
You know what I mean
You play my heart strings

If you cut a piece of guitar string
I would wear it
This is the real thing
Wrapped around my finger
You know what I mean
You play my heart strings

When you’re near
I feel the best
I’m somebody, somebody

It’s in my pulse
It’s in my chest
My whole body, whole body

So if you want me
I’ll be around
You’re a bird on the water
I’m a fish on the ground

Just hold me closer
Oh won’t you hold me down tonight

But if you cut a piece of guitar string
I would wear it like it’s a wedding ring
Wrapped around my finger
You know what I mean
You play my heart strings

If you cut a piece of guitar string
I would wear it
This is the real thing
Wrapped around my finger
You know what I mean
You play my heart strings

You’re in the country
While I’m in the town
You’re a bird in the water
I’m a fish on the ground

And I want to be there
For you tonight
And I hope you hear me
Baby hold on tight
Hold on tight, yeah

If you cut a piece of guitar string
I would wear it like it’s a wedding ring
Wrapped around my finger
You know what I mean

If you cut a piece of guitar string
I would wear it like it’s a wedding ring
Wrapped around my finger
You know what I mean
You play my heart strings

If you cut a piece of guitar string
I would wear it
This is the real thing
Wrapped around my finger
You know what I mean
You play my heart strings

Credit: Photo by Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.