Lyric discussion by bl3hhh 

Cover art for The Boy lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins, The

I've always appreciated James' contributions to the band. Even though Billy has pretty much covered all the emotions through his music career, I felt he has never been able to convey pure feelings of unfiltered romantic love, which James does really well. IMO James gave the late-90s Pumpkins a haunting, ambient sound as well as songs with layers and layers of extremely well-orchestrated parts. He is extremely underrated and it would be really cool if he were still in the Pumpkins - he would be perfect for what they are doing right now.

"The Boy" is one my favorite songs that James wrote for the Pumpkins. And it's about young, innocent, pure love. I think "the boy" in this song is James referring to himself. According to the lyrics, he's in love again and he can't breathe/stop/think, etc. Like pretty much every young person, James is in a state of euphoria and believes that nothing can go wrong. This song definitely captures the feeling of a high point in a romantic relationship.

My Opinion