I'm A Boy

Album: Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy (1966)
Charted: 2
Play Video
  • One girl was called Jean Marie
    Another little girl was called Felicity
    Another little girl was Sally Joy
    The other was me, and I'm a boy

    My name is Bill, and I'm a head case
    They practice making up on my face
    Yeah, I feel lucky if I get trousers to wear
    Spend evenings taking hairpins from my hair

    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But my ma won't admit it
    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But if I say I am, I get it

    Put your frock on, Jean Marie
    Plait your hair, Felicity
    Paint your nails, little Sally Joy
    Put this wig on, little boy

    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But my ma won't admit it
    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But if I say I am, I get it

    I want to play cricket on the green
    Ride my bike across the street
    Cut myself and see my blood
    I want to come home all covered in mud

    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But my ma won't admit it
    I'm a boy, I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    I'm a boy, I'm a boy, I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    I'm a boy, I'm a boy, I'm a boy Writer/s: PETER TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: T.R.O. INC.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 15

  • Oliver from None Of Your Businesstransmasc teen here. this encapsulates my feelings pretty well, albeit a bit simplistically. wonderful song and surprisingly progressive for the sixties :)
  • Ben from AustraliaAs a trans man, this song hits really close to home. Really captures the s--ttiness of being misgendered by your own mum.
  • Clemence from New YorkI always wondered if this song was autobiographical for Pete Townsend. Sounds like it wasn't.
  • Scott from New York, NyChris, it's a French Horn. That was John's first instrument and he plays it on various who songs such as My Wife.
  • Guy from Woodinville, WaThis is a great song! I grew up one boy with four sisters, so I could always relate to it. I didn't have the extreme issues portrayed in the song, but it always cracked me up and I felt like it was one of my theme songs. It pays to have a sense of humour. Pete Townshend wrote about real psychology like no other rocker!!
  • David from Boerne, TxThis lyric is surprisingly touching. Especially to an adult who might've had "gender identity issues" as a kid, which I understand Townshend did.
  • Tomcat from Richmond, VaReply to Zack:
    I think that this means that if the poor kid tries to assert himself, his parents whack the living tar out of him.
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScThe description of "Quads" in the above mensioned songfacts sounda little like what happens in the movie "Gattica". has anyone else noticed that?
  • Chris from Elk River, MnOne of the few rock songs I am aware of that uses a tuba. At least I'm pretty sure it's a tuba, at the end of the song.
  • Zack from Burnley, EnglandCan anyone else here a voiceover on "...but if I say I am I *get it*"?
  • Fintan from Cheltenham, EnglandThe family in "Quads" had ordered four girls but had instead gotten three girls and one boy.
  • Eddie from Petaluma, Cathis song rocks. the lyrics rock and so does the actual song. god bless the who and pete townshend for coming out with such a great song
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScWow pete Townshend was definitely ahead of his time. I mien, I dould the song was about a boy whose mother wanted him to be a girl, but noone else would have written about that in the '60's. Would they have?!
  • Ryan from Albion, Nyi thought this song was kind of the opposite..like a girl who acts like she's a boy or something..oh well
  • Shana from Detroit Rock City, Canadahaha this song is cool...it starts to rock out a bit into it and I think they should have stuck with that for the rest of the song, or at least made it into a chorus type thing...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Stephen Christian of Anberlin

Stephen Christian of AnberlinSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist for Anberlin breaks down "Impossible" and covers some tracks from their 2012 album Vital.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

Psychedelic Lyrics

Psychedelic LyricsMusic Quiz

Whoa man! Do you know which band came up with these cosmic lyrics?

90s Metal

90s MetalFact or Fiction

Test your metal - Priest, Maiden, and Beavis and Butt-head show up in this one.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"They're Playing My Song

Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."