Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945, in Washington, Tyne and Wear) is an En… Read Full Bio ↴Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945, in Washington, Tyne and Wear) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to The Independent, Ferry and his contemporary David Bowie influenced a generation with both their music and their appearances. Peter York described Ferry as "an art object" who "should hang in the Tate".

Born to a working-class family, Ferry studied fine art and taught at a secondary school before pursuing a career in music. In 1970 he began to assemble the rock band Roxy Music with a group of friends and acquaintances in London, and took the role of lead singer and main songwriter. The band achieved immediate international success with the release of their eponymous debut album in 1972, containing a rich multitude of sounds, which reflected Ferry's interest in exploring different genres of music. Their second album, For Your Pleasure (1973), further cultivated the band's unique sound and visual image that would establish Ferry as a leading cultural icon over the next decade.

Ferry began a parallel solo career in 1973 by releasing These Foolish Things, which popularized for the first time the concept of a contemporary musician releasing an album covering standard songs and was a drastic departure from his ongoing work with Roxy Music. His second album, Another Time, Another Place (1974), featured as its cover image Ferry posing by a pool in a white dinner jacket and represented one of his most impactful fashion statements. Over the next two years, Roxy Music released a trilogy of albums, Stranded (1973), Country Life (1974) and Siren (1975), which broadened the band's appeal internationally and saw Ferry take greater interest in the role of a live performer, reinventing himself in stage costumes ranging from gaucho to military uniforms.

Ferry disbanded Roxy Music following the release of their best-selling album Avalon in 1982 to concentrate on his solo career, releasing further singles such as "Slave to Love" and "Don't Stop the Dance" and the UK no. 1 album Boys and Girls in 1985. Including his work with Roxy Music, Ferry has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

As well as being a prolific songwriter, Ferry has recorded many cover versions, including standards from the Great American Songbook, in albums such as These Foolish Things (1973), Another Time, Another Place (1974), Let's Stick Together (1976), Taxi (1993) and As Time Goes By (1999), as well as Dylanesque (2007), an album of Bob Dylan covers. In 2019, Ferry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Roxy Music.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Ferry

Studio albums
These Foolish Things (1973)
Another Time, Another Place (1974)
Let's Stick Together (1976)
In Your Mind (1977)
The Bride Stripped Bare (1978)
Boys and Girls (1985)
Bête Noire (1987)
Taxi (1993)
Mamouna (1994)
As Time Goes By (1999)
Frantic (2002)
Dylanesque (2007)
Olympia (2010)
The Jazz Age (2012)
Avonmore (2014)
Bitter-Sweet (2018)

Boys and Girls
Bryan Ferry Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm a stranger in your town
That's the place I belong
Laid behind the frame
And the curtain's torn again

A wailing saxophone
And you know it's all in my song
All the sin that I can take

But you don't even know my name

You've got so sense of fun
But you know I've one
All the good has turned to bad
All you know what I think of that

No time to dream
No time to sigh
No time to kill
When love walks by

And who's that crying in the street
Death is the friend I've yet to meet

Overall Meaning

In "Boys and Girls," Bryan Ferry sings about being a stranger in a town, yet feeling like he belongs there. He is hidden out of sight, lying behind a frame behind a torn curtain. His story is told through a wailing saxophone and it's all in his song. He can handle all the sin that can be thrown at him, yet he's not even known by name.

The song speaks of the life of a wandering musician who finds solace in playing music. The world around him seems to have lost its fun and has turned from good to bad. The lyrics point to the fact that there is no time to dream, no time to kill, and we all have limited time when love walks by us. The ending verse speaks of someone crying in the street, possibly referring to the sad state of the world, and death being the friend that Ferry has yet to meet.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm a stranger in your town
I feel like I don't belong here

That's the place I belong
Despite feeling out of place, something pulls me back

Laid behind the frame
Hiding in the background, waiting for my chance to shine

And the curtain's torn again
Every opportunity I have to prove myself, it feels like something goes wrong

A wailing saxophone
My music is emotional and evocative

And you know it's all in my song
What I'm feeling is reflected in my music

All the sin that I can take
I'm willing to indulge in vices

But you don't even know my name
Despite my fame, you don't know who I am as a person

You've got so sense of fun
You're too serious and I want to lighten things up

But you know I've one
I bring the fun and excitement

All the good has turned to bad
Things that used to be good have gone wrong