Spanning just two and a half minutes, the song was written by original members Smith, Michael Dempsey and Lol Tolhurst, and was produced by Chris Parry, founder of Fiction Records.<\/p>\n
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The label was started after Parry\u2019s time at Polydor in A&R. Dismayed at how his requests to sign the Sex Pistols and The Clash had been rejected, he then decided to take matters into his own hands.<\/p>\n
The music mogul had been impressed by The Cure\u2019s 1978 demo tape, particularly the early versions of Boys Don\u2019t Cry and 10:15 Saturday Night, so he contacted the band and secured them as his first signing. Parry would also manage the group over the next decade and help them establish them as one of the biggest bands in the world.<\/p>\n
The song\u2019s lyrics tell the story of a man trying to win back the love of his life having \u201csaid too much, been too unkind\u201d. Instead of being honest about his feelings, however, he feels compelled to \u201claugh about it, cover it all up with lies\u201d as a way of \u201chiding the tears in my eyes\u201d.<\/p>\n
The lyrics were born out of Smith\u2019s frustration with being expected to conform to an outdated view on masculinity, hence the title of the song.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was growing up, there was peer pressure on you to conform to be a certain way,\u201d The Cure frontman told Rolling Stone in 2019. \u201cAnd as an English boy at the time, you\u2019re encouraged not to show your emotion to any degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is something Smith struggled with and decided to challenge head-on via the medium of music.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t help but show my emotions when I was younger,\u201d he added. \u201cI never found it awkward showing my emotions. I couldn\u2019t really continue without showing my emotions \u2013 you\u2019d have to be a pretty boring singer to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He continued: \u201cSo I kind of made a big thing about it. I thought, \u2018Well, it\u2019s part of my nature to rail against being told not to do something.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry (The Show of a Lost World – Live from Troxy 2024) – YouTube
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Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n The chord sequence in Boys Don\u2019t Cry originates from the A major scale \u2013 moving up from A through to Bmin, C#min and D before coming back down quickly ahead of the turnaround.<\/p>\n The pre-chorus is even simpler, pivoting between the C#min and Bmin shapes, before returning to the original progression.<\/p>\n There is also another section based around E and F#min shapes higher up the neck as Smith sings \u201cMisjudged your limit, I pushed you too far, I took you for granted, I thought that you needed me more, oh no\u201d.<\/p>\n The single-note melody played over the top of the main movement is also from the A Major scale, recorded using Smith\u2019s Fender Jazzmaster. The instrument was fitted with a pickup from his entry level Woolworth\u2019s Top 20 electric guitar, bought that same year for \u00a320.<\/p>\n \u201cI took the Top 20 in to record our first album, along with a little WEM combo<\/a> amp,\u201d he told Guitar Player in 1992. \u201cChris Parry, who was paying for the record, said, \u2018You can\u2019t use that!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n It was a performance by Elvis Costello on Top Of The Pops that inspired Smith to then invest in a Fender Jazzmaster.<\/p>\n Smith recalled: \u201cWe went out and bought a Fender Jazzmaster, and I immediately had the Top 20 pickup installed in it. That really upset Chris. I played the entire [debut] Three Imaginary Boys album through a Top 20 pickup. It\u2019s a brilliant guitar, though I actually bought it because of how it looked.\u201d<\/p>\n The instrument was refinished several times through the following decade and remained Smith\u2019s go-to guitar for classic goth-era albums like Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography.<\/p>\n A music video for Boys Don\u2019t Cry was made in 1986 to promote the New Voice New Mix re-recording and featured three children miming the song, with the shadows of Smith, Dempsey and Tolhurst looming behind them.<\/p>\n The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry (Official Music Video) [HD] – YouTube
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