Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” Lyrics Meaning
Daniel Foster by SMF·
The term smalltown boy is a colloquialism pointing to the idea of said young man being naïve of the ways of the outer world due to never venturing outside of his humble home community. And that is roughly the idea that this song is based on. For we see from the onset that its subject is leaving home for the first time into the unknowns of life on his own, far away from his family.
');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();But more importantly to the storyline of the song is his reason for leaving. You see although it is never explicitly mentioned in the lyrics, this character is actually a victim of pressing homophobia. This idea is inferred mainly in the third and fourth verses, where we see that he has been “pushed… and kicked around”. This is in addition to him being gossiped about around the ‘hood and not in a good way.
Yet despite these persecutions, he never lets himself get emotionally overwhelmed by them. Instead he decides to pack up and leave his home. And as the video suggests, where he migrates to is the big city (i.e. London), where homosexuality is more of the norm.
Writing Credits of “Smalltown Boy”
“Smalltown Boy” was written by the original members of Bronski Beat – Steve Bronski, Larry Steinbacheck (1960-2016) and Jimmy Somerville. In fact the lyrics are said to be based on Somerville’s real-life experiences.
Indeed the entire trio were openly-gay. And they released this song at a time when laws concerning homosexuality in their homeland of the United Kingdom were less-favorable than they are today.
');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();For instance “Smalltown Boy” is featured on Bronski Beat’s debut album, “The Age of Consent”. And the name of that project alludes to the fact that back in the early 80s ,when it was released, the legal age limit of consent for sensual encounters amongst homosexuals in the UK was 21 years old, whereas for heterosexuals it was 16.
Success
Based on the above, “Smalltown Boy” was especially popular in gay circles. But the song also proved to be a hit in general. It topped the charts in Belgium, the Netherlands and in the US on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club list.
As for the UK itself the tracked peaked at number three on the Singles Chart and has been certified Gold, in addition to making it onto the top 10 in a number of other countries and also going Gold in Canada.
Notable Covers of “Smalltown Boy”
Since “Smalltown Boy” was released as far back in 1984, it has been covered really extensively by many singers. One outstanding cover of this classic was done by Dido. You can listen to Dido’s brilliant version of “Smalltown Boy” below:
