Beautiful Boyz

CocoRosie's 'Beautiful Boyz' is a hauntingly poetic exploration of marginalized lives, focusing on the beauty and tragedy of boys who live on the fringes of society. The song, featuring Antony Hegarty (now Anohni), delves into the lives of boys born into unfortunate circumstances, often finding themselves in reformatories and prisons. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of these boys' lives, marked by illegitimacy, crime, and incarceration, yet they are described with a sense of tragic beauty and romanticism.

The song opens with a melancholic refrain, 'Those, those beautiful boys,' setting the tone for a narrative that is both sorrowful and admiring. The boys are depicted as 'born illegitimately to a whore,' immediately placing them in a context of societal rejection and hardship. Despite these harsh beginnings, there is a sense of glory and love in their lives, even if it is found in the most unlikely places, such as reformatories and prisons. The repeated mention of prison as a place of love and beauty is a powerful metaphor for finding humanity and connection in the darkest of places.

The chorus, sung by Antony, emphasizes the diversity and complexity of these boys, referring to them as 'pimps and queens and criminal queers.' This line challenges conventional notions of masculinity and beauty, celebrating the tattoos of ships and tears that mark their bodies as symbols of their lived experiences. The song's narrative also touches on themes of love and loss, with the mention of a 'greatest love' who was executed, adding another layer of tragedy to the story. Through its lyrical content and haunting melody, 'Beautiful Boyz' invites listeners to see the beauty in the broken and the marginalized, offering a poignant commentary on the resilience and humanity of those often overlooked by society.