Boy Problems

## **Boy Problems***Emotion*

**Boy Problems** is the sixth track on Carly Rae Jepsen's third studio album, Emotion (2015). It was released on June 24th 2015 through 604, School Boy and Interscope Records.

The song received an official music video on April 8th 2016, which has garnered over six million views on YouTube as of August 2021.

## **Lyrics**

**Intro**: Sia

Listen, just leave or stay, but I'm done listening to it

**Verse 1**

"If you're gonna go then go"

She said to me on the phone

"So tired of hearin' all your boy problems

If you're gonna stay then stay

He's not gonna change anyway

So tired of hearin' all your boy problems"

**Pre-Chorus**

And I know she's right

And I should not be offended

Yeah, I know what it looks like from the outside

I know she's right

And I should not be offended

Yeah, I know what it looks like from the outside, from the outside

**Chorus**

Boy problems, who's got 'em?

I've got 'em too

Boy trouble, we've got double

Don't know what to do

**Post-Chorus**

I think I broke up with my boyfriend today and I don't really care

I've got worse problems

*(I broke up with my boyfriend)*

I think I broke up with my boyfriend today and I don't really care

I've got worse problems

*(I broke up with my boyfriend, yeah)*

**Verse 2**

"Carly, you got to let it go!"

She said to me on the phone

"So tired of hearin' all your boy problems

It could be the perfect day

He'll just make it rain anyway

So tired of hearin' all your boy problems"

**Pre-Chorus**

And I know she's right

And I should not be offended

Yeah, I know what it looks like from the outside

I know she's right

And I should not be offended

Yeah, I know what it looks like from the outside

From the outside

**Chorus**

Boy problems, who's got 'em?

I've got 'em too

Boy trouble, we've got double

Don't know what to do

**Post-Chorus**

I think I broke up with my boyfriend today and I don't really care

I've got worse problems

*(I broke up with my boyfriend)*

I think I broke up with my boyfriend today and I don't really care

I've got worse problems

*(I broke up with my boyfriend, yeah)*

**Bridge**

What's worse, losing a lover or losing your best friend?

Oh oh oh oh oh

What's worse is when you discover you're not good for each other

She's been giving, you've been taking, taking, taking

**Chorus**

Boy problems, who's got 'em?

I've got 'em too

Boy trouble, we've got double

Don't know what to do

**Post-Chorus**

I think I broke up with my boyfriend today and I don't really care

I've got worse problems

*(I broke up with my boyfriend)*

I think I broke up with my boyfriend today and I don't really care

I've got worse problems

*(I broke up with my boyfriend, yeah)*

**Outro**

Boy problems, who's got 'em?

I've got 'em too

Boy trouble, we've got double

Don't know what to do

Boy problems, who's got 'em?

I've got 'em too

Boy trouble, we've got double

Don't know what to do

Boy problems, who's got 'em?

I've got 'em too

## **Song credits**

#### **Writing and production**

* **Written by:** Carly Rae Jepsen • Sia Furler • Greg Kurstin • Tavish Crowe
* **Produced by:** Greg Kurstin

#### **Instrumentation**

* **Bass:** Greg Kurstin
* **Drums:** Greg Kurstin
* **Guitar:** Greg Kurstin
* **Keyboard:** Greg Kurstin

#### **Additional credits**

* **Engineering:** Greg Kurstin • Alex Pasco • Julian Burg
* **Mixing:** Manny Marroquin
* **Mixing assistance:** Chris Galland • Ike Schultz
* **Mastering:** Gene Grimaldi

#### **Studio info**

* **Recorded at:** Echo Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
* **Mixed at:** Larrabee Studios (Los Angeles, CA)
* **Mastered at:** Oasis Mastering (Burbank, CA)

#### **Publishing info**

* **Published by:** Universal Music Corp • Jepsen Music Publishing (ASCAP) • Sia Furler EMI Music Publishing Inc (ASCAP) • Kurstin Music • EMI April Music (ASCAP) • Crowe Music Publishing (SOCAN)

## **Writing and development**

#### **Initial conceptualisation with Tavish Crowe**

Boy Problems initially began as an early demo written alongside songwriter Tavish Crowe, sometime around June 2013 during The Summer Kiss Tour, in the back of Jepsen's tour bus.

At the time of writing, Jepsen had been going through a "painful" break-up with her then-boyfriend Matthew Koma. She explained, "not every song is exactly about a personal experience, but I was finding that I was talking nonstop about all of the chaos of my relationship to anybody who would listen because I needed to process it. My girlfriends were getting the bad end of that, and I could hear, I felt, how annoying I was."

"I couldn’t shut up about it because I needed almost a therapist. I needed to talk it out. I wrote Boy Problems from the perspective of realising that I was probably at my limit for what I could do — with still having friends at the end of this. This song was a little bit of a punch in my own face, taking it from her perspective. Not that anybody ever freaked out at me, but I was imagining, 'Just leave or stay."

#### **Additional development for Emotion**

The original demo of Boy Problems conceived with Crowe would later be developed into the final iteration of the track alongside Sia Furler and Greg Kurstin. In a now-deleted Tweet from Sia, it was stated she and Jepsen had been working together in the studio in October 2013.

Before approaching Sia, Jepsen had been struggling to write a bridge for the song "for months" and had almost shelved the track entirely because of it. Jepsen says she felt safe to share her ideas with Furler, who had embraced the song "in a big way" and wrote the bridge entirely herself almost immediately afterwards.  Furler also features on the song with a small spoken-word intro; "I actually was so stoked that I convinced Sia to do the talking part, almost in a ’90s way, like, 'Just leave or stay but I’m done listening to it!'"

Commenting on the song, Jepsen stated "I was realising that it was a healthy decision to end [the relationship], so that’s the anthemic part. It is a very tongue-in-cheek song, it’s knowingly a little bit more youthful but in a funky bass line kind of way, which still fit what we were doing with the rest of the album."

## **Music video**

Boy Problems received a music video on April 8th, 2016 on YouTube. The video itself was directed by Petra Collins, and premiered for the first time by Collins with Rookie Magazine.

#### **Development and conceptualisation**

Jepsen first teased the Boy Problems music video earlier in February 2016, explaining that she and Collins had been 'cooking up something very special' for the song. The project came to be when Collins had reached out to Jepsen to say Boy Problems was her favourite song of the album.

Jepsen stated, 'out of the blue, Petra reached out to ask if she could make a video for her favourite track from the album: ‘Boy Problems.’ What she didn’t know is that I had been following her online, via Instagram and other outlets, for a while and had become a HUGE fan of her photographs and artwork. I think she has a very gifted eye for a refreshing look at youth and beauty, and the way she plays with colour always stands out to me. So the answer was an immediate YES! We met that first day in New York and were giddy with creating something new together and I am so pleased for how the dark and glittery scenes we imagined turned out.'

## **References**

1. ↑ Carly Rae Jepsen - Boy Problems YouTube. April 8th 2016.
2. ↑ *Emotion* (album booklet). Carly Rae Jepsen. 604 Records, School Boy Records and Interscope Records. 2015.
3. ↑ Lanksy, Sam "Carly Rae Jepsen on the Song She Wrote About Mike Tyson That Didn't Make Her New Album". Time Magazine. August 19th, 2015. Retrieved April 5th, 2021.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Nexus Radio Editorial "Carly Rae Jepsen Interview" Nexus Radio, February 19th 2016.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Gevinson, Tavi "The Next Adventure: An Interview With Carly Rae Jepsen". Rookie Magazine. October 16th 2015.
6. ↑ "Carly Rae Jepsen recruits Sia Furler for new album". HamadaMedia, October 14th 2013. Retrieved June 28th 2021.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Collins, Petra "Carly Rae Jepsen: Boy Problems". Rookie Magazine. April 8th, 2016. Retrieved April 15th, 2021.