Big Boys Lyrics
In the usual way
Everything is so provocative
Very very, temporary
I shall walk (I shall walk)
Out of this place (out of this place)
I shall walk
Out on you
'Cause you go silly
If she's willing
Trying so hard to be like the big boys
Trying to become a fixture
Inch by inch trying to reach her
All the way through the second feature
Worrying about your physical fitness
Tell me how you got this sickness, Oh ohhhh..
By a face like a truncheon
I was down upon one knee
Stroking her vanity
I came alive and left for dead
As my face returned to red
Choking on my pride and pity
Until your face is blue (till your face is blue)
We can talk but she'll get to you
After you've been loved and hated
By the ones you've watched and waited
Found that they were overrated
She'll be the one - when the girls have gone home
She'll be the one - that you'll wish you'd held onto
She'll be the one - but it's too late for you to
She'll be the one - who knows all your history
She'll be the one -
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
To be like the big boys, oh.
I think this about the time he was still married to his childhood sweetheart ('she'll be the one who knows all your history') but was also having a relationship with the model bebe buell - what totally different worlds those two women must have come from! Yhe wife a working class girl, mother of his child, from England and the mistress a top beautiful model from USA living a very different hedonistic life,
There also seems to be some suggestion that he has been caught cheating ' I was caught in the suction (kissing?) by her face like a truncheon (ie a face that 'hit' him).
This is one of my favourite of EC's songs. It shows him determined to live out his destiny, he knows that he will probably have regrets in the future (she'll get to you after you've been loved and hated . . .)but he cannot resist the lure of the siren call.
It seems obvious to me that he had very strong feelings for his ex wife and I suspect that she may have cheated on him and hurt him quite badly - if his earlier songs are anything to go by -if that is so maybe that is why he left her.
The list at the end that goes ' she'll be the one' ending with the definite 'so you can cross her off your list' I think this shows a man who has made a tough decision but who is ready to get on with the next phase of his life.
I'm really not sure, but it seems like its about a naive guy trying to be "like the big boys" and have a girlfriend. He thinks this will make him happy, but doesn't really know much about girls.
Just my take.
I think you're kind of close. To me, the song describes romance is an ego bruising, pride swallowing experience. He tries so hard to be cool like the movie heroes or the studly guys he grew up with, but instead he has to resort to kissing ass, worrying about his ability to perform, worry about disease. (Worrying about your physical fitness-Tell me how you got this sickness)
I think you're kind of close. To me, the song describes romance is an ego bruising, pride swallowing experience. He tries so hard to be cool like the movie heroes or the studly guys he grew up with, but instead he has to resort to kissing ass, worrying about his ability to perform, worry about disease. (Worrying about your physical fitness-Tell me how you got this sickness)
An incredible song from an absolutely incredible album.
An incredible song from an absolutely incredible album.