Written by: Luther Dixon/Wes Farrell
Recorded: 11 February 1963
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Norman Smith
Released: 22 March 1963 (UK), 10 January 1964 (US)
Ringo Starr: vocals, drums
John Lennon: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney: backing vocals, bass
George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar
Available on:
Please Please Me
Anthology 1
On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2
Boys was Ringo Starr's vocal spotlight on the Please Please Me album. It was recorded in a single take on 11 February 1963, and marked the drummer's first recorded lead vocal.
The song was written for the US girl group The Shirelles, and was originally the b-side of their November 1960 single Will You Love Me Tomorrow. The Beatles also recorded The Shirelles' Baby It's You for Please Please Me.
Boys was part of The Beatles' live set from 1961. It had been performed by Pete Best prior to Ringo joining, and remained the band's main 'drummer spot' until 1964.
That the song was knocked off so quickly in the studio is testament to The Beatles' tightness as a live act – little preparation was needed, since Ringo had performed Boys during his time with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
The Beatles apparently didn't consider the song's lyrical connotations.
Ringo always used to do a song in the show. Back then he had Boys. It was a little embarrassing because it went, 'I'm talking about boys – yeah, yeah – boys'. It was a Shirelles hit and they were girls singing it, but we never thought we should call it Girls, just because Ringo was a boy. We just sang it the way they'd sung it and never considered any implications.
Anthology
A version of Boys, recorded for the April 1964 TV special Around The Beatles, appeared on the Anthology 1 album.
The Beatles also recorded Boys seven times for BBC radio, none of which were included on Live At The BBC. All bar one of the versions was performed in 1963; the other was from 17 July 1964.
Lyrics
I been told when a boy kiss a girl
Take a trip around the world
Hey, hey (Bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey (Bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey (Bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Yeah, she say ya do (Bop shuop)
My girl says when I kiss her lips
Gets a thrill through her fingertips
Hey hey, hey hey
Hey hey, yeah, she say you do
Well, I talk about boys (yeah, yeah, boys)
Don't you know I mean boys (yeah, yeah, boys)
Well, I talk about boys, now (yeah, yeah, boys)
Aaahhh, boys (yeah, yeah, boys)
Well, I talk about boys, now (yeah, yeah, boys)
What a bundle of joy! (yeah, yeah, boys)
Alright, George!
My girl says when I kiss her lips
Gets a thrill through her fingertips
Hey hey, hey hey
Hey hey, yeah, she say you do
Well, I talk about boys
Don't ya know I mean boys
Well, I talk about boys, now
Aaahhh, boys
Well, I talk about boys, now
What a bundle of joy!
Oh, oh, ah yeah boys
Don't you know I mean boys?
Ooh, boys
Ah ha
Well I talk about boys now
Ah, boys
Good energy track, which strangely, it seems only Ringo could do (no disrespect to Ring, lol). Not sure why this obvious lyrical flub wasn’t changed, but man, he was really confident delivering this one. I wonder what guys in the crowd were thinking, or if this was some early Beatle hazing too.
Ringo was a fine lead singer when given the spotlight.
Not a writer, but definitely underrated as a singer.
Yeah.
I can’t tell which part John and George sing. Can anyone tell me?
John, George, and Paul all do the backup vocals (the yeah yeah boys stuff, et cetera. Paul does all the screams.
Hope Ringo doesn’t still do this song with his All-Star Band. Sorry, but there’s something really creepy about a 72-year old man with an earring, flashing a peace sign (seriously!) & talkin’ ’bout “Boys”…
i always think the same about paul mccartney and “i saw her standing there”… “she was just seventeen, you know what i mean” !?!?!? he maybe should change it into “seventy” 😉
Man Bill. . . you are too funny. I know, Huh? I always thought the words were just a little
“uneasy” . . . I think Of Herbert from Family Guy as he looks at Chris. Lol.
Ringo does play this with his All- Star Band, and it’s still fantastic!!
Haha, he actually did this song when I went to see him and his All-Starr Band in Nashvile in June 2016. He lowered the pitch a bit, like with Yellow Submarine. Otherwise, no changes were made. ^_^
Yes, Ringo, wisely, lowers the keys in some songs. Paul should have started doing that decades ago. Instead he usually strains his voice as if to prove he’s the same young tenor he was 40 years ago.
I always used to go crazy at the “Alright, George” — it just sounded so spontaneous! And of course it let you, the teenage listener, know it was George doing the awesome guitar solo.
here here. and love Ringos drumming on this as well
For this to be recorded in one take is quite awesome. It’s just so well done, with the screams and the solo etc…Such a great performance.
This cover just fits so well in the context of the album and I especially love the harmonies.
When I was a kid listening to this song, I always thought Ringo was shouting “Alright, Girls!” before George’s solo…I figured it was a clever comment on the gender reversal in the lyrics!
Too much worrying about the boy / girl thing. The song includes the lines:
My girl says when I kiss her lips
Gets a thrill through her fingertips
Surely this opens the song up to either sex, or maybe someone thinks this is a comment about The Shirelles preferences…
Enough, already. Let it be
I don’t hear any gay connotations at all. The Shirelles version is “man, I love those boys” while the Beatles version is “isn’t it great being a boy?”
There’s a huge similarity between “Boys” and “What’d I say” by Ray Charles! Listen to the piano, it plays the “Bop shuop, m’bop bop shuop” and the sung “Hey Hey” is exactly like in “Boys”.
That’s exactly what I thought!
And, of course, Ringo used the exact What’d I Say drum pattern on I Feel Fine. The lads certainly loved Ray Charles.
I’ve always liked this song and how it fits in with the album and so forth, but OMG the version on Live at the Hollywood Bowl is amazing! The whole band just *crushes* it. Ringo is drumming and singing super forcefully, and the Bop-Shu-Ops are so powerful! Even the intro… the screaming for Ringo is intense! Paul’s intro is quick and to the point, almost like he is expecting the screams to flatten him as he rushes away from the mic. Wow wow wow!
The televised performance on Shindig, recorded in London, Oct 3, 1964, was probably the last time it was played live by The Beatles.