Released: October 12, 2008

Songwriter: Glen Ballard R. Hudson Alanis Morissette Larry Troutman M. Hooks Roger Troutman C. Stainton J. Cocker Toby Gad BC Jean

Producer: Beyoncé Toby Gad

[Verse 1]
If I were a boy
Even just for a day
I'd roll out of bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted then go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I'd kick it with who I wanted
And I'd never get confronted for it
'Cause they'd stick up for me

[Chorus]
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man
I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
'Cause he's taken you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed

[Verse 2]
If I were a boy
I would turn off my phone
Tell everyone it's broken
So they'd think that I was sleepin' alone
I'd put myself first
And make the rules as I go
'Cause I'd know that she'd be faithful
Waitin' for me to come home
To come home

[Chorus]
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man
I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted (Wanted)
'Cause he's taken you for granted (Granted)
And everything you had got destroyed

[Bridge]
It's a little too late for you to come back
Say, it's just a mistake
Think I'd forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong

[Outro]
But you're just a boy
You don't understand
(Yeah, you don't understand, oh)
How it feels to love a girl
Someday, you'll wish you were a better man
You don't listen to her
You don't care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
'Cause you've taken her for granted
And everything you have got destroyed
But you're just a boy...

Beyoncé

In the twenty-first century, no pop star was as poised, as polished, or as generally fierce as Beyoncé. She scored early success with Destiny’s Child, who started out as a sexier and sassier (if less adult) version of TLC, then steadily became more and more of a vehicle for Beyoncé’s operatic vocals and general diva-tude, which may have been the plan all along.

Whether appearing in TV spots, co-starring in films like Dreamgirls, or killing it every night on stadium tours, Beyoncé was omnipresent in the 2000s. Almost everybody, Beygency member or otherwise, loved shiny, hip-hop-fueled hits like “Crazy in Love”, and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. Moving into the 2010s, Beyoncé fights on, gaining more and more traction in pop culture with her work and music.

She has made a significant impact upon the music landscape in general with her recent albums 4 and BEYONCÉ, which explored complex themes like motherhood, feminism, marriage, sexuality, and doubt in a greater depth. With Lemonade, she went a step further—the fierce, intimate exploration of marriage, infidelity, and forgiveness was her most personal and musically daring album yet.