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"Boy Blue"
Single by Cyndi Lauper
from the album True Colors
B-side	"The Faraway Nearby"
Released	May 25, 1987 (1987-05-25)
Recorded	1986
Genre	Dance-pop
Label	Portrait Epic
Songwriter(s)	Cyndi Lauper Stephen Broughton Lunt Jeff Bova
Producer(s)	Cyndi Lauper Lennie Petze
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology
"What's Going On" (1987) "Boy Blue" (1987) "Maybe He'll Know" (1987)
Music video
"Boy Blue" on YouTube

"Boy Blue" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, taken from her second studio album True Colors (1986). The track was penned by Lauper, Stephen Broughton Lunt, and Jeff Bova, with production by Lauper and Lennie Petze. It was released on May 25, 1987, as the fourth single from the album by Portrait Records. Proceeds from the sale of the single were donated to AIDS organizations.

"Boy Blue" became one of Lauper's poorest charting singles, and her shortest charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending a dismal four weeks and peaking at number 71. A live version of "Boy Blue" was later released as the B-side of her single "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)".

Background

"Boy Blue" came after Gregory Natal, a friend of Lauper's who was dying from AIDS, asked for her to write a song for him. He wanted her to release it "in the spirit of "That's What Friends are For". She spoke of the process saying, "Most of my life I've been able to deal with the notion that there will always be people who are better and greater than I am, but I can't concentrate on other people. So I wrote "Boy Blue." I poured out my heart, and my liver, into that song."

The title comes from a poem by Eugene Field called "Little Boy Blue". This poem is based on a kid's story:

"Little Boy Blue"

          The little toy dog is covered with dust,
          But sturdy and staunch he stands;
          And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
          And his musket moulds in his hands;
          Time was when the little toy dog was new,
          And the soldier was passing fair;
          And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
          Kissed them and put them there.

Here is what Cyndi says about this song:

"I tried to write about my friend. I knew he really loved 'That's What Friends Are For.' I know that maybe he would have liked me to do a song like that. Instead I wrote about him personally. I don't know that my lyrics were good enough, I don't know that anything was good enough. Maybe it was too personal. I don't know. But I wrote it for him. It was because of him that I keep trying to do stuff. And other friends. So many talented people, so many of our friends and so many gifted people have passed on. Or struggle everyday. Just to live. And it was because of my friends and others that I do this. Maybe that song wasn't good enough, I don't know."

When Lauper was asked about her intense live performance that was released as the video for the song, she responded:

"I used to cry every night when I sang that song. I was so mad. You know, you go through so much and I was so mad. I was mad that my friend was gone, I was mad at the way people treated me...We didn't know what the hell it was. We didn't know anything. Then all of a sudden it was out in the open and everyone was talking about it, but when he first told me about it I didn't understand. I didn't know. And then all of a sudden my friend was ill and ill and ill and then...It was so hard. I was so angry and every night I would sing my guts out, but you'd open your eyes after and it was the same. But sometimes, in a lot of ways, it was healing."

Critical reception

Jonathan Kennaugh of Rough Guides described it as a "poignant track written after the death of a close friend." Ron Fell of the Gavin Report described its meaning saying, "Her boy blue is obviously a close personal friend who's a vulnerable, shy guy mugged of his innocence but still in possession of his soul and his dreams." Dave Sholin of the same publication positively praised the song saying, "Her endearing vocal style matches up wonderfully with the lyric of this song."

Music video

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2015)

The official music video for the song was a live video clip pulled from the Cyndi Lauper in Paris home video cassette and HBO special. It was directed by Andy Morahan.

Track listing

Standard 7-inch single

1. "Boy Blue" – 3:58
2. "The Faraway Nearby" – 2:57

Standard 12-inch single

1. "Boy Blue" – 4:45
2. "Time After Time" – 3:59
3. "The Faraway Nearby" – 2:57

Charts

References

1. "The single most beautiful statement from Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors."". Radio & Records. No. 687. May 22, 1987. p. 10.
2. Levasseur, Rick (June 23, 1987). "Lauper skips marriage, goes straight to the honeymoon". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, ME. p. 10.
3. ^ Lauper 2017, p. 157.
4. Buckley 2003, p. 584.
5. Fell, Ron (May 22, 1987). "Reviews". Gavin Report. No. 1657. p. 26.
6. Sholin, Dave (May 22, 1987). "Personal Picks: Singles". Gavin Report. No. 1657. p. 65.
7. de Atley, Richard (June 20, 1987). "Cyndi Lauper goes to Paris, on TV". The Day. New London, CT. p. A7.
8. Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - Cyndi Lauper - "Boy blue"". Music Video DataBase. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
9. Boy Blue (United States 7-inch single sleeve). Cyndi Lauper. Portrait Records. 1987. 37-07181.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Boy Blue (Australian 12-inch single sleeve). Cyndi Lauper. Portrait Records. 1987. 650940 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. "Cyndi Lauper – Boy Blue" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
12. Hitparadeitalia (1987). "Hitparadeitalia Chart". Hitparadeitalia Charts. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
13. "Cyndi Lauper Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
14. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles". Cashbox. Vol. L, no. 50. June 13, 1987. p. 4. ISSN 0008-7289.

Bibliography

• Lauper, Cyndi (2017). Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir. Atria Books. ISBN 9781439147894.
• Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050.

• 1987 songs
• 1987 singles
• Cyndi Lauper songs
• Epic Records singles
• Music videos directed by Andy Morahan
• Song recordings produced by Cyndi Lauper
• Songs written by Cyndi Lauper
• Songs written by Jeff Bova
• Songs about HIV/AIDS