What A Good Boy
When I was born, they looked at me and said,
’what a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy’
And when you were born, they looked at you and said,
’what a good girl, what a what a smart girl, what a pretty girl'
We’ve got these chains that hang around our necks
People want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same,
When temptation calls, we just look away.
Chorus
This name is the hairshirt I wear
And this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair.
This song is the cross that I bear,
Bear with me, bear with me, bear with me, be with me tonight,
I know that it isn’t right, but be with me tonight.
I go to school, I write exams,
If I pass, if I fail, if I drop out,
Does anyone give a damn?
And if they do, they’ll soon forget ’cause it won’t take much for me
To show my life ain’t over yet.
I wake up scared, I wake up strange.
I wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever going to change.
I wake up scared, I wake up strange
And everything around me stays the same.
Chorus
I couldn’t tell you that I was wrong,
Chickened out, grabbed a pen and paper, sat down and I wrote this song.
I couldn’t tell you that you were right,
So instead I looked in the mirror,
Watched tv, laid away all night.
We’ve got these chains, hanging 'round our necks,
People want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change,
afraid of staying the same when temptation calls ...
When I was born, they looked at me and said;
’what a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy’
And when you were born, they looked at you and said;
’what a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl, hey’
The Music
This is lovely song. A gentle acoustic guitar dominates the song, with a (mostly) quiet, steady drumbeat. Typically for BnL, the lyrics are passionate all the way through, and the song is beautifully sung. The chorus builds up dramatically, and is quite rousing. It is a very easy song to listen to, and easy to enjoy.
My View
This is a song about identity, and expection. As such, it is quite pertinent to my life at the moment. The central idea here is that from the moment we're born, we have expectations placed on us. The 'chains hanging round our neck' - our parents, family, friends want us to be smart, strong, astronauts, footballers, doctors. For each of us the expectations are different. They also vary in feasibility and pressure, and as such some people will relate to this song more than others. As we grow and move through life, these expectations stay with us. Different people come to expect different things, and push us in different directions.
The problem with this is that these expectations can come to define us, dominate us, 'strangle' us. What happens when the path set out for us is not the one we want to take? The lines about waking up scared and strange capture, for me, the feeling of being forced to go in a particular direction, or to be a particular person; even though it is not the one we want. There is fear of failing, and of letting people down. There is fear of being stuck somewhere we dont want to be, of being in the wrong place. Despite this, the expectations remain, strong as ever - '...everything around me stays the same'. How do our own expectations fit in?
The verse beginning with ' I couldn't tell you I was wrong' is a little mysterious. Certainly to my mind, it seems a little out of place in the song. As with all literature - this means that it is important, and carries either an alternate meaning, or the core meaning of the song. How else can writers call attention to something than by making it stand out? This verse certainly stands out. It doesn't seem too preoccupied with the idea of expection. Or at least, not obviously. It has more the feel of an apology, as if some mistake has been made. I think this verse is here because He (read, the voice/narrator/subject) has tried to break out of his chains. He made some move to change things, and to create his own life. But it didnt work. He was wrong about what was good for him, and maybe the expectations are there for a good reason. He challenged his life, and failed. As such, he has been forced to rethink his life - or at least his attitude towards it. Hence, 'I looked in the mirror... laid awake all night'. To me, these lines speak of an inner struggle with ones identity.
Of course, there are bound to be alternate readings of this song. Re-reading the lryics now, I can see how other ideas can be taken from the words. For example, it could be about a relationship - certainly the chorus points towards a desire to spend time with someone He loves. When I hear this song, however, I think of expectation. In fact, sometimes some of these lyrics pop into my head when I am thinking about such things.