If I Were A Boy

## Video

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"**If I Were A Boy**" is the first track from Beyoncé's third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce.

## Background

The song is the opening ballad of the *I Am...* disc of the double album *I Am... Sasha Fierce*. It is the only song on either disc that Beyoncé did not co-write. After completing her version of "If I Were a Boy", BC Jean presented it to her record company, which rejected the song. Toby Gad and Jean had co-written 12 songs for the singer's debut album. As the deal with Jean's record company fell apart, Gad marketed the songs to established artists. Beyoncé liked "If I Were a Boy" and recorded her own version. "If I Were a Boy" is a midtempo pop and R&B ballad, with folk rock and soft rock influences. The lyrics of the song are about a gender-swapping thought experiment, through which Beyoncé analyses the ideologies of a tense relationship. As she sings about things she would do if she were a boy, Beyoncé highlights the vulnerability of a woman and ponders how things would be different if men had women's sense of empathy.

## Release & Reception

"If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" were released simultaneously as the double album's two lead singles on October 8 and 13, 2008. A Spanish version of the song, titled "**Si Yo Fuera un Chico**", was digitally released in Mexico and Spain. "If I Were a Boy" was widely acclaimed by contemporary music critics, who applauded Beyoncé's vocal performance and called the song her best yet. For the week ending October 25, 2008, "If I Were a Boy" debuted at number one-hundred on the US *Billboard* Hot 100 chart, based solely on airplay. In its third charting week, the song rose from number sixty eight to number three on the Hot 100 chart[65] as its digital download counterpart debuted at the top of the US Hot Digital Songs chart. It became Beyoncé's fourth number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart, following "Check on It", "Irreplaceable", and "Beautiful Liar".

## Lyrics

[Verse]

If I were a boy

Even just for a day

I’d roll outta bed in the morning

And throw on what I wanted and go

Drink beer with the guys

And chase after girls

I’d kick it with who I wanted

And I’d never get confronted for it.

'Cause they’d stick up for me.

[Chorus]

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I’d be a better man.

I’d listen to her

'Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted

'Cause he’s taken you for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

[Verse]

If I were a boy

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone it’s broken

So they’d think that I was sleepin’ alone

I’d put myself first

And make the rules as I go

'Cause I know that she’d be faithful

Waitin’ for me to come home (to come home)

[Chorus]

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I’d be a better man.

I’d listen to her

'Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted (wanted)

'Cause he’s taken you for granted (granted)

And everything you had got destroyed

[Bridge]

It’s a little too late for you to come back

Say it's just a mistake

Think I’d forgive you like that

If you thought I would wait for you

You thought wrong

[Chorus 2]

But you’re just a boy

You don’t understand

Yeah, you don’t understand, oh

How it feels to love a girl someday

You wish you were a better man

You don’t listen to her

You don’t care how it hurts

Until you lose the one you wanted

'Cause you’ve taken her for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

But you’re just a boy