Big Boys

I am starting to function
In the usual way
Everything is so provocative
Very very temporary

I shall walk (I shall walk)
Out of this place (out of this place)
I shall walk
Out on you
'Cause you go silly
If she's willing
Trying so hard to be like the big boys

So you take her to the pictures
Trying to become a fixture
Inch by inch trying to reach her
All the way through the second feature
Worrying about your physical fitness
Tell me how you got this sickness
Oh ohhhh...

I was caught in the suction
By a face like a truncheon
I was down upon one knee
Stroking her vanity

I was stuck on a hammerhead
I came alive and left for dead
As my face returned to red
Choking on my pride and pity

We can talk (we can talk)
Until your face is blue (till your face is blue)
We can talk but she'll get to you
After you've been loved and hated
By the ones you've watched and waited
Found that they were overrated

She'll be the one - when the party's over
She'll be the one - when the girls have gone home
She'll be the one - that you'll wish you'd held onto
She'll be the one - but it's too late for you to
She'll be the one - who knows all your history
She'll be the one -

So you can cross her off your list
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
And you try so hard
To be like the big boys, oh

Big Boys
Written by	Elvis Costello
Performed by	Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Produced by	Nick Lowe
Musicians	Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar Steve Nieve - keyboards Bruce Thomas - bass Pete Thomas - drums
Recorded	August-September 1978, Eden Studios, London
Released	January 5, 1979
Albums	Armed Forces, 1979
Collections	2½ Years, 1993
Length	2:54

First known performance:
April 12, 1978, Portsmouth, England
Last known performance:
June 27, 2014, Wilmington, DE
(77 known performances)

Alternate versions

Big Boys (Demo)
Performed by	Elvis Costello
Musicians	Elvis Costello - vocal, guitar
Recorded	January 1978, Eden Studios, London
Released	October 15, 1993
Albums	This Year's Model (Rykodisc/Demon reissue), 1993 This Year's Model (Rhino/Edsel reissue), 2002 This Year's Model: Deluxe Edition, 2008
Collections	2½ Years, 1993
Length	2:58

Big Boys (Alternate Version)
Performed by	Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Produced by	Nick Lowe
Musicians	Elvis Costello - vocals, guitar Steve Nieve - keyboards Bruce Thomas - bass Pete Thomas - drums
Recorded	September 1978, Eden Studios, London
Released	October 28, 2002
Albums	Armed Forces (Rhino/Edsel reissue), 2002
Length	2:54