This is a song about longing for an idealized life. In it the singer recounts growing up in a small town and wishing to experience the romanticized joys of a stereotypical heterosexual relationship as portrayed in country songs. They yearn to have that ‘perfect girl’, or to risk a dance with strang...
[Verse 1]
I work at the mall food court
And when I get home
I fix something to eat, settle into my seat
And turn on the country radio
I know every word to every song
And they make these lonely nights a little less long
'Cause then I'm under the stars, regular at the bar
Got a perfect girl, I got a worn in truck
We go down to the river, and the moonlight is silver
But most of all I get to be in love
[Chorus]
I wanna be that boy, I wanna be that girl
I wanna know what it's like to fall in love
Like most of the rest of the world
But as far as these songs will take me is as far as I'll go
I'm just a gay kid in a small town
Who loves country radio
[Verse 2]
I feel it in old time, I feel it brand new
The lonesome refrain, the secrets and pain
Like only a song can know you
But then I close my eyes, it's like I clicked my heels
That's me in the story and the story is real
It works like a charm, I've got him on my arm
We're taking a chance on a dance while the band
Plays our favorite song, we're singing along
And tonight, he's gonna ask my hand
[Chorus]
I wanna be that boy, I wanna be that girl
I wanna know what it's like to fall in love
Like most of the rest of the world
But as far as these songs will take me is as far as I'll go
I'm just a gay kid in a small town
Who loves country radio
[Bridge]
And as I'm driving from work
The sign at your church says, repent now
You can't go back to the ways of your past
So I go twice as fast to turn you on
So I can live like that
[Chorus]
Boy, I wanna be that girl
I wanna know what it's like to fall in love
Like most of the rest of the world
But as far as these songs will take me is as far as I'll go
I'm just a gay kid in a small town
Who loves country radio
Country Radio was written by Emily Saliers.
Country Radio was produced by John Reynolds.
Indigo Girls released Country Radio on Thu Apr 30 2020.