If I Were a Boy Lyrics
If I were a boy
Even just for a day
I'd roll out of bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted then go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I'd kick it with who I wanted
And I'd never get confronted for it
'Cause they'd stick up for me
[Chorus]
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man
I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
'Cause he's taken you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed
[Verse 2]
If I were a boy
I would turn off my phone
Tell everyone it's broken
So they'd think that I was sleepin' alone
I'd put myself first
And make the rules as I go
'Cause I know that she'd be faithful
Waitin' for me to come home
To come home
If I were a boy
I think I could understand, oh-ooh
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man
I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted (Wanted)
'Cause he's taken you for granted (Granted)
And everything you had got destroyed
[Bridge]
It's a little too late for you to come back
Say, it's just a mistake, think I'd forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong
[Chorus]
But you're just a boy
You don't understand (Yeah, you don't understand, oh)
How it feels to love a girl
Someday, you'll wish you were a better man
You don't listen to her
You don't care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
'Cause you've taken her for granted
And everything you have got destroyed
But you're just a boy
About
“If I Were a Boy” is a commentary on the double standards that often exist between men and women and a story of role reversal. She explores what it would be like if she did all the things he did to her every day.
The woman in the song has been taken for granted but at the same time she doesn’t want to let go and lose everything that she once had. It’s unclear at the end whether she is final about not taking him back or if there is a note of hope that someday he’ll realize what he’s been doing to her and become a better man.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
When discussing all the different elements and styles of music she incorporated in I Am…Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé said of this track:
You can hear with ‘If I Were A Boy,’ it’s not a traditional R&B song. It’s difficult to grow and to break out and do new things because people have strong expectations. I feel like at this point, I wanted people to hear songs with stronger lyrics and songs that made you feel. I love singing ballads because I feel like the music and the emotion in the story is told so much better.
BC Jean, who co-wrote the song with Toby Gad, told Hartford Courant about her reaction when she got a phone call saying that Beyoncé would be recording her song.
At first I was confused, because I never thought of myself as writing songs for other people. I had always written for myself and was trying to get signed and do the whole artist thing as well. It’s an amazing compliment, but I was like, “That’s great, but it’s going to be on my album!” And it can be on my album, too, I just didn’t realize how it worked. This was my first cut ever; I’ve never written for anybody else. It was not my initial intention, but it’s opened so many doors, it’s amazing.
She went on to explain the song’s background, and how she and Gad came up with the idea.
The song started because I had the title. Toby and I had written about 11 songs together over a week or two. Whenever I said anything interesting, he would take out a little tape recorder and start recording me just talking. Our communication was very interesting – he’s European. So we were walking through Times Square, and I said, “I wish I were a boy,” and he’s like, “Why would you say that? That’s very weird to me.” I said, “That pizza smells really good, and I’m trying not to eat carbs, and I wish I were a boy so I didn’t care.” That’s how the song started, and he was like, “What else would you do if you were a boy?” And I was going through a really hard breakup with my first real love, so I said, “I’d be a better man than my ex-boyfriend!” And he asked, “How would you sing it?” So I’m just singing in Times Square into his recording thing, and we went back to the studio, and he had a guitar part. We recorded it that day; it was so simple. I remember Toby looking at me and going, “We just wrote a smash.” I thought he was crazy. I was like, “Really?”
Yes. “If I Were a Boy” was certified gold by the RIAA on January 30, 2009, and 2x platinum on October 13, 2009.
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- 10.Sweet Dreams
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