Barenaked Ladies – What A Good Boy

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  General Comment:I didn't bother reading through all the comments, but most of you are way off. This song is packed with relgious language, specifically Christian, and even more specifically, Catholic terms. In earlier ages it was more common, but even today, a monk will wear uncomfortable clothing to do penance, a way to "take up your cross, and follow me" in the words of Jesus. A hair shirt was extremely rough, irritating material worn against the skin underneath one's normal clothes. The song is about struggling with a religious upbringing, temptation to abandon its requirements, etc., reconciling that with falling in love. It's a coming of age song. That's how I hear it anyway. But good songs tend to mirror our own values and reflect them back on us.

  Flag bodyslamon May 16, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:Comment: I Had to create an account to make this comment. That was overdue though. I first heard this song around 2007. It was used for a commercial for the A&E show, Intervention. I loved it ever since.
  
  Interpretation: When we are born people have all these expectations for us. These expectations may be to go to school, to be straight, good, what ever. You are not asked what you want but the expectations exist independently. For example, My parents raised me protestant so my sisters and I are expected to be protestant-Christian.
  
  When you grow up, you start going through the motions of what is expected. As you get older, you will start questioning why and what you are doing. When I was about 16, I started to doubt my faith. So, it was a struggle to be who I was verses what was expected of me.
  
  I think the chains are the expectations. The protagonists is struggling with what to do. He is 'wakes about scared' strange' because of this struggle and identity crises of sort. (I am not too sure after this but..) The girl is in the same struggle. She does not have the preexisting expectations for him to be good, strong, smart. He is looking to her to affirm him, that he can be who he is becoming. He affirms her that she is 'a pretty girl' (the last lines of the song).
  
  A hair shirt is meant to irritate the skin. It is often wore as a penitence. The cross is a burden one must carry. So, maybe something with her did not work out. It is a constant irritation to him. It is a burden he is carrying. Only she can lift it. He wants to be with her but he knows 'it isn't right'. He is looking to her to save him.
  
  Overall, It is about putting faith in expectations. Expectations that are not yours but you try to meet.

  Flag FeelAThouton February 07, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:I think this song is about someone coming to terms with being homosexual. He's a teenage boy with a close girl friend. He starts the song by comparing the gender roles assigned to both of them before they can even speak. It implies that he might be a bit resentful of the fact that he's expected to be strong while she gets to be "pretty".
  I think he's bullied at his highschool and the teachers don't really do much about it. Hence the "Does anyone even give a damn". He talks about dropping out, it's an angry speculation like "Would they even notice?" then he says well, it doesn't matter if they don't notice. One day I'll make something of myself and they'll all see.
  Then he talks about the chains around his neck. I think the chains are what kind of person he's expected to be. A straight, strong male. He's afraid of coming out and changing everything but also scared that he'll stay "in the closet" afraid of what that will do him mentally.
  But being able to prove them later stops being enough. So in a desperate attempt to prove his hetero-ness (and ultimately solve his other problems) to himself he asks his friend (a girl) to have sex with him. The lyrics imply that she told him it'd be wrong but still ended up agreeing. After that their relationship as friends ended and they stopped talking. The character wrote this song as a sort of apology.
  The cross he bears is the undeniable knowledge the he is gay and that he can't be in a "normal" relationship with a woman. But also knowing that he hurt his friend by using her to try to fix his problems.

  Flag BrokenPuppeton January 12, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:I don't know where you got the relationship from as i always though it was about the varying pressures on a brother and sister. The lines "If I pass if I fail if I drop out Does anyone give a damn" always reminded me that support was lacking. I also the hairshirt was a metaphor of the pain in his life that has been caused from jelousy

  Flag JSyretton September 07, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:This is a really sad song, and it especially relates to a current situation I am in. I'd like to think this song is about a young man who has just realized he is in love with or has feelings for a long-time friend of his, hes unsure if she feels the same way and this feeling creates a lot of pain for him. Something is holding them back from being together, probably due to current relationships they are in. .. the timing is all wrong, but he wants nothing more than to be with her, and he can only hope that she feels the same way... The protagonist sounds really upset, and confused. wanting a positive change in his life, he's not sure if he can be happy without her.

  Flag ronslickon February 27, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:"
  I go to school, I write exams
  If I pass, if I fail, if I drop out, does anyone give a damn?
  And if they do, they'll soon forget
  'Cause it won't take much for me to show that my life ain't
  over yet
  "
  ^
  
  The only thing that got me through high school

  Flag macman2511on April 22, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Jews and incest? Share the drugs dude. The chains are metaphoric. But here is my meaning I take from it.
  
  We are all born with a blank slate...hence the "what a good boy." He has obviously done something in his life that has given him some sort of bad reputation. Therefore, his name comes with some shame, hence the "hairshirt." People try to ridicule him(/them?) before they have a chance to explain or defend themselves ("take our first breath"). So at this point, he is wondering whether anyone will "give a damn" whether he succeeds or fails.
  
  Where the girl comes in, I have not thought about that yet.

  Flag I_think_im_dumbon April 03, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:sounds to me more like dropping out of college because you got pressured into going and it wasntwhat you would have chosen

  Flag kdanceon October 15, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:This is all about a college love
  

  Flag lizzy33on June 26, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:It's funny that everyone jumped all over dag88's earlier comment like it was undoubtedly incorrect. (He said it was about being labeled as a virgin and pleading a girl to have sex with him.) Personally, I always interpreted this song as being about societal pressures and gender roles, but years later I'm still not convinced there isn't an element of what dag88 was talking about. Some lines just don't click for me. I can't explain why his "hairshirt" (which, by definition, sounds like a scarlet letter of sorts) is metaphorically "woven" from the girl's hair, why their being together that night isn't right, or what the bridge is about (not wanting to hell her she's right). I get that he's feeling pressure from the world around him, but it sounds very intertwined with her and their being together specifically. It would be pretty interesting if dag88 ended up being somewhat correct after the 7 years of comments making fun of him; though honestly, any good song leaves room for varying personal interpretations. But it's not like BNL never made any songs with strong sexual meanings... (See: It's Only Me).

  Flag Browns0286on April 13, 2010   Link

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