What a Good Boy
The Duke's Men Lyrics

When I was born, they looked at me and said
My birth was greeted with compliments and high expectations.

What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
I was praised for the positive traits I was expected to display as a male child.

And when you were born, they looked at you and said,
Your birth was greeted with similar compliments and expectations.

What a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl.
You were praised for the positive traits you were expected to display as a female child.

We've got these chains that hang around our necks,
We feel burdened by the societal expectations placed upon us.

People want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
We feel like we are suffocating under the expectations of others before we even have a chance to truly live.

Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same,
We are caught between the fear of the unknown and the comfort of the familiar.

When temptation calls, we just look away.
We resist change and new experiences even when they might be tempting or exciting.

This name is the hairshirt I wear,
The expectations and labels placed upon us feel like a heavy burden that we cannot escape.

And this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair.
The source of these burdens and expectations is rooted in the people and society around us.

This song is the cross that I bear,
This song serves as an outlet for us to express the weight of our burdens and the challenges we face.

Bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me,
We ask for understanding and support from those around us as we navigate these challenges.

Be with me tonight,
We seek comfort and companionship in the face of these challenges.

I know that it isn't right, but be with me tonight.
Even if we know that our struggles are not necessarily rational or justified, we still crave support and understanding.

I go to school, I write exams,
We are expected to conform to societal norms and expectations by pursuing education and achieving success within that system.

If I pass, if I fail, if I drop out,
The outcomes of our academic pursuits can have profound effects on the rest of our lives, yet they may not necessarily define us as individuals.

Does anyone give a damn?
We question whether anyone truly cares about our individual struggles and successes within this system.

And if they do, they'll soon forget 'cause it won't take much for me
Even if people do care, our individual struggles and achievements are often easily forgotten or overshadowed by larger societal expectations and norms.

To show my life ain't over yet.
We acknowledge that there is still hope for us to shape our own lives and find our own paths, regardless of whether we succeed or fail in traditional measures of society.

I wake up scared, I wake up strange.
Our fears and uncertainties continue to haunt us even in our everyday lives.

I wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever going to change.
Despite our acknowledged desire for change, we often feel powerless to make it happen within the confines of societal expectations and norms.

I couldn't tell you that I was wrong,
We struggle to admit our own faults and shortcomings to others, feeling trapped by the expectations placed upon us.

Chickened out, grabbed a pen and paper, sat down and I wrote this song.
We often turn to creative outlets, like writing songs, to express our emotions and navigate the complexities of societal expectations and our own struggles.

I couldn't tell you that you were right,
Admitting the validity of someone else's perspective or criticism can be difficult for us, feeling like it threatens our sense of self.

So instead I looked in the mirror,
We often turn inward, avoiding confrontation with others, but also facing ourselves and our own struggles.

Watched TV, laid awake all night.
We struggle to distract ourselves from these challenges, but ultimately cannot escape them.