Album: Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy (1966)

Charted: 2

License This Song 

• 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...

More Songfacts:

Scooby SnacksFun Lovin' Criminals

The Scooby Snacks in the Fun Lovin' Criminals song aren't dog treats, they're Valium pills.

TushZZ Top

"Tush" doesn't have to refer to anatomy, according to ZZ Top. It's a word that also means "lavish."

Shelter From the StormBob Dylan

Bob Dylan helped popularize the concept of "burnout" in his 1975 song "Shelter From the Storm" when he sang: "I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail." That's how many Americans were feeling at the time as they worked harder for less pay.

You Are A TouristDeath Cab for Cutie

The music video for "You Are A Tourist" by Death Cab For Cutie was done live on the internet, becoming the first live, scripted, single-take music video recorded that way.

Personal JesusDepeche Mode

"Personal Jesus," a song about "being a Jesus for somebody else," was inspired by Elvis and Priscilla Presley.

Do They Know It's Christmas?Band Aid

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band-Aid was the first big group charity single. It was organized by Bob Geldof, who a year later put together "We Are The World" and Live Aid.

Editor's Picks

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Scott StappSongwriter Interviews

The Creed lead singer reveals the "ego and self-fulfillment" he now sees in one of the band's biggest hits.

Billy Gould of Faith No MoreSongwriter Interviews

Faith No More's bassist, Billy Gould, chats to us about his two new experimental projects, The Talking Book and House of Hayduk, and also shares some stories from the FNM days.

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.