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Smalltown Boy Lyrics
You leave in the morning
With everything you own in a little black case
Alone on the platform
The wind and the rain
On a sad and lonely face
Mother will never understand
Why you had to leave
For the love that you need
Will never be found at home
Pushed around and kicked around
Always a lonely boy
You were the one
That they'd talk about around town
As they put you down
And as hard as they would try
They'd hurt to make you cry
But you'd never cry to them
Just to your soul
No you'd never cry to them
Just to your soul
With everything you own in a little black case
Alone on the platform
The wind and the rain
On a sad and lonely face
Mother will never understand
Why you had to leave
For the love that you need
Will never be found at home
Pushed around and kicked around
Always a lonely boy
You were the one
That they'd talk about around town
As they put you down
And as hard as they would try
They'd hurt to make you cry
But you'd never cry to them
Just to your soul
No you'd never cry to them
Just to your soul
Song Info
Submitted by
numb On Jun 23, 2001
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Beautiful and poignant song about being gay in a not-so-gay-friendly world.
This song is obviously about running away from home, and though the lyrics are honest, and not particularly poetic but striking, his most haunting voice gives this song real feeling and meaning.
The video's brilliant but pretty difficult to watch, consisting chiefly of Jimmy Somerville looking sad and getting his ass kicked by a homophobic diver on a motorcycle (?!), and later by his own dad in front of a cop.
One of the great gay anthems, right up there with Erasure's "Hideaway" and Pet Shop Boys' "A Red Letter Day" and...okay, so what I would know, as a straight boy?
What I do know is that my state's Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage today, and while there's still much to be hashed out, the world just became a slightly better place. Keep the faith, y'all.
smalltown boy is about running away from home and finding yourself or thats the way i interpret it. sitting at home all day everyday will only may you depressed so you gotta get out in the world and find your place ;)
I think it is about a young man who is gay and can't stay in his hometown, because he can't come out to his mother.
This song is so sad. Whats even worse is that i happens now a days. Kids runaway cause they are gay and no one would accept them. Well...most are kicked out because they are gay, but thats a different story. Very sad and powerful.
@Shadow_Kyubi very late reply, but: 11 years since you posted this, and it sinks in a little more every day, even as "Da Drumpf" was sworn in last Friday, that it won't be one by until the dinosaurs who want to deny human rights and decency to people (for religion or whatever reason) will soon be a very small minority, and while the kids of succeeding generations will have their faults, simple humanity seems to be something they have in adequate supply. The stupidity of the Cavemen will be gone when there are enough voters to get rid of the...
@Shadow_Kyubi very late reply, but: 11 years since you posted this, and it sinks in a little more every day, even as "Da Drumpf" was sworn in last Friday, that it won't be one by until the dinosaurs who want to deny human rights and decency to people (for religion or whatever reason) will soon be a very small minority, and while the kids of succeeding generations will have their faults, simple humanity seems to be something they have in adequate supply. The stupidity of the Cavemen will be gone when there are enough voters to get rid of the bigot lawmakers, and, while humanity will always have its own demons to overcome, the fact that those who consider themselves above other human being because they consider their color, race, sexuality, religion are dying as I type this, in numbers that won't be replaced, makes me giddy.
I may not live to see it, but the direction in which we seem to be heading (acceptance, understanding), regardless of the glacial pace, will be realized. Songs like Smalltown Boy will be relics of a different time, not unlike Strange fruit, The Midnight Special, The Ballad of Ira Hayes, etc etc.
its about a gay kid running away from his home town because he is discriminated and bullied. moving song
the original 12" version starts with the whole song sung with very little music and his voice is really heard - full of emotion. worth downloading this version if you can. My 12" is rather scrathched now..
From the accompanying video its about some one who is gay and has to escape and run away . But it can be about anyone who grows up not fitting in or subject to some form of abuse and has the only option to ...get away , run away ... so they can find some peace or find somewhere that they can be accepted or be happy . They keep it to themselves because they cant let them take their dignity and pride , it is all they have left . .. Never cry to them just to yourself ..