The key to the meaning of the song is the interpretation of the line "December boy's got it bad". I believe that the word needs to be "boy's", meaning a contraction of the words "boy has", and not the plural "boys."
Grammatically this makes sense. If he was referring to December Boys in plural, the line would be either "December boys have got it bad", or "December Boys have it bad". It is clear to me that he's singing about a specific December boy who's got it bad, namely the late great Alex Chilton, born December 28th 1950.
Once that's understood, we can get to the subtext of the song. The World is divided up into different types of people based on their gender and birthmonth. Each subtype has its own characteristics, and September gurls are unbelievably, heartbreakingly awesome. They do so much, yet they have the capacity to be deeply touched when they have a December boy for a butch, at least some of the time. Aptitude, Lucky Star, and Mindchild have also picked up on this, pointing out that September gurls are outgoing, full of activity, sunshine, new beginnings, etc. I would also add that December is the darkest month of the year, so that says something about December boys.
Moving from the subtext to the text, I'm not exactly what "being your butch" means. I agree with Mindchild that it most likely means they hooked up once. But what exactly it means isn't so important in and of itself. What's much more important - and this is more than anything else in the whole wide world right now - is that a September gurl once felt something for him, she doesn't feel it anymore, and this December boy's got it bad.
He loved her, but at this point there's nothing he can do, so nevermind, he will keep away. But he can't deny what's inside, and he will continue to cry all the time and console himself with late night fantasies of lovemaking with this super awesome September gurl, because when it comes to September gurls, "they we'll love all our days".
All of this deep heartache is so beautifully expressed in two short verses and a bridge - 2:49 minutes of pop perfection.
My counsel to young Alex is that it's necessary to feel these things for a while. In time you will discover that September is a long month, and quite a few more September gurls are out there. And just wait until you discover that July gurls truly and deeply appreciate their butches for the long haul. But he won't be able to absorb that, because December boy's got it bad!
December boy's got it bad!
The key to the meaning of the song is the interpretation of the line "December boy's got it bad". I believe that the word needs to be "boy's", meaning a contraction of the words "boy has", and not the plural "boys."
Grammatically this makes sense. If he was referring to December Boys in plural, the line would be either "December boys have got it bad", or "December Boys have it bad". It is clear to me that he's singing about a specific December boy who's got it bad, namely the late great Alex Chilton, born December 28th 1950.
Once that's understood, we can get to the subtext of the song. The World is divided up into different types of people based on their gender and birthmonth. Each subtype has its own characteristics, and September gurls are unbelievably, heartbreakingly awesome. They do so much, yet they have the capacity to be deeply touched when they have a December boy for a butch, at least some of the time. Aptitude, Lucky Star, and Mindchild have also picked up on this, pointing out that September gurls are outgoing, full of activity, sunshine, new beginnings, etc. I would also add that December is the darkest month of the year, so that says something about December boys.
Moving from the subtext to the text, I'm not exactly what "being your butch" means. I agree with Mindchild that it most likely means they hooked up once. But what exactly it means isn't so important in and of itself. What's much more important - and this is more than anything else in the whole wide world right now - is that a September gurl once felt something for him, she doesn't feel it anymore, and this December boy's got it bad.
He loved her, but at this point there's nothing he can do, so nevermind, he will keep away. But he can't deny what's inside, and he will continue to cry all the time and console himself with late night fantasies of lovemaking with this super awesome September gurl, because when it comes to September gurls, "they we'll love all our days".
All of this deep heartache is so beautifully expressed in two short verses and a bridge - 2:49 minutes of pop perfection.
My counsel to young Alex is that it's necessary to feel these things for a while. In time you will discover that September is a long month, and quite a few more September gurls are out there. And just wait until you discover that July gurls truly and deeply appreciate their butches for the long haul. But he won't be able to absorb that, because December boy's got it bad!