When I Was a Boy Songtext
von Dar Williams

I won′t forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand
I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn′t check.
I learned to fly, I learned to fight
I lived a whole life in one night
We saved each other's lives out on the pirate's deck.
And I remember that night
When I′m leaving a late night with some friends
And I hear somebody tell me it′s not safe, someone should help me
I need to find a nice man to walk me home.
When I was a boy, I scared the pants off of my mom,
Climbed what I could climb upon
And I don't know how I survived,
I guess I knew the tricks that all boys knew.
And you can walk me home, but I was a boy, too.


I was a kid that you would like, just a small boy on her bike
Riding topless, yeah, I never cared who saw.
My neighbor come outside to say, "Get your shirt,"
I said "No way, it′s the last time I'm not breaking any law."
And now I′m in a clothing store, and the sign says less is more
More that's tight means more to see, more for them, not more for me
That can′t help me climb a tree in ten seconds flat

When I was a boy, see that picture? That was me
Grass-stained shirt and dusty knees
And I know things have gotta change,
They got pills to sell, they've got implants to put in, they've got implants to remove
But I am not forgetting
That I was a boy too

And like the woods where I would creep, it′s a secret I can keep
Except when I′m tired, except when I'm being caught off guard
I′ve had a lonesome awful day, the conversation finds its way
To catching fire-flies out in the backyard.
And I tell the man I'm with about the other life I lived
And I say now you′re top gun, I have lost and you have won
And he says, "Oh no, no, can't you see
When I was a girl, my mom and I we always talked
And I picked flowers everywhere that I walked.
And I could always cry, now even when I′m alone I seldom do
And I have lost some kindness
But I was a girl too.
And you were just like me, and I was just like you.