Synopsis
The video places Virginia in a modest diner, where Rebecca Gayheart plays a waitress moving through an ordinary workday while Train perform around her. She serves customers and navigates the repetitive atmosphere of the restaurant, embodying the song's portrait of a woman whose rough edges and contradictions make her compelling. The band members appear within the diner setting rather than in a separate performance space, giving the clip a homespun, character-driven feel that matches the song's folksy pop-rock tone.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video was released in 1999, although "Meet Virginia" first appeared as a single in 1998.
- The diner scenes were filmed at Merritt Bakery and Restaurant in Oakland, California, near Lake Merritt. The restaurant later closed after a fire in 2016.
- Rebecca Gayheart plays Virginia. At the time, she was widely recognized from her Noxzema advertising work and was sometimes referred to as the "Noxzema Girl."
- The character of Virginia was not based on one specific woman. Patrick Monahan described her as a composite of women the band had encountered, combining different personalities and real-life details.
- One of those details inspired the lyric about exercising in high heels. A woman connected to bassist Charlie Colin reportedly arrived at a softball game wearing a long dress and high heels, then played shortstop.
- The video became one of Train's early television calling cards and was reported as a Top 10 video on VH1 during the song's rise.