'
I'm A Boy', released in August 1966, is another song that was not on any albums. Dealing with the topic of transvestism, it pre-dates '
Lola' by the Kinks by four years
It was originally intended to be part of a rock opera entitled 'Quads', a tale set in the future when parents could choose the sex of their children. The family in the story request four girls, but got three girls and a boy instead, and the song is the boy's lament at the error. Well advanced for it's time, and with lyrics unlike anything else of the period, it tips a hat to The Beach Boys with its high harmonies, but the counterpoint between guitar and drums is 100% Who.
An
alternate, longer version of the song was included on the 1971 compilation album 'Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy'. This one featured John on the French horn and a whole new verse: "
Help me wash up Jane-Marie / You can dry Felicity / Stack the dishes Sally-Joy / Behind those scrub clothes I'm a boy"
Pete:
"This is a longer and more relaxed version of the single which was edited and had fancy voices added. The song, of course, is about a boy whose mother dresses him up as a girl and won't let him enjoy all the normal boyish pranks like slitting lizards' tummies and throwing rocks at passing cars. Real Alice Cooper syndrome. Of course Zappa said it all when he wrote the original Rock Opera. Nobody noticed, so he had to write a satire on the one Rock Opera people did notice. 'I'm A Boy' was my first attempt at a Rock Opera. Of course the subject matter is a little thin, then what of Tommy?"
The vocals are split between Pete and Roger, with Pete acting as the 'narrator' and Roger as 'Bill'
"One girl was called Jean Marie
Another little girl was 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
chorus:
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
chorus
Wanna play cricket on the green
Ride my bike across the street
Cut myself and see my blood
Wanna come home all covered in mud
chorus"
The 'B'-side of the singles was called '
In The City'. It's another Beach Boys pastiche written by Keith and John who apparently didn't tell Pete and Roger that they were in the studio! The guitars and vocals were overdubbed at a later date, but obviously the song suffers as a result of this
It's not to be confused with the song by The Jam with the same title!
"Come along
Into the city
Where the girls are pretty
And you can't go wrong
Take your time
No need to hurry
Don't have to worry
Cause it won't take long
Well you can surf in the city
You can swim in the pools
Do anything you want
Because there ain't no rules
Drive your super-stock carbur to the long highway
And you can drag.
In the city in the falling right
The kids are hip and they can dance all night
In the city all the girls are pretty and they go...
Come along
Into the city
Where the girls are pretty
And you can't go wrong
Well you can surf in the city
You can swim in the pools
Do anything you want
Because there ain't no rules
Drive your super-stock carbur to the long highway
And you can drag.
In the city in the falling right
The kids are hip and they can dance all night
In the city all the girls are pretty and they go...
In the city, into the city..."