Lyrically, the song expresses positive remembrance of a relationship with an ultimately elusive woman: :"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 ... :"With the possible exception :"Of who I wanted her to be ... That last sentence of that first verse was praised by Kit Rachlis in his September 1980 review of the album, but he bemoaned "Talk about celestial bodies/And your angels on the wing." The full title of the song is only sung by Browne once in the song, who then ends the song with a variation on it: :"She wasn't much good at saying goodbye — but, :"That girl was sane.
Billboard writes that the song starts "with a haunting instrumental before his perceptive lyrics and vocals take charge" and that the melody builds in intensity over the course of the song.
Record World called it a "prime example" of how "Browne's ballad-into-rocker arrangements are endearing as they are distinctive." "That Girl Could Sing" was long speculated to be about either singer-songwriter
Laura Nyro, whom Browne dated in the early 1970s, or his friend and former touring companion
Linda Ronstadt, but was considered to have been inspired by sometime-Browne backup singer
Valerie Carter. Fan website editor Russ Paris stated on his site that he believed that "most fans seem to consider Carter the inspiration for the song" with Browne giving a couple hints through the years". ==Chart positions==