HE'S SURE THE BOY I LOVE

[spoken first verse:]
I always dreamed the boy I love would come along
And he'd be tall and handsome, rich and strong.
Now, that boy I love has come to me
But he sure ain't the way I thought he'd be.

(Sha-la-la-la-la, hey hey hey
Sha-la-la-la-la, hey hey hey
Sha-la-la-la-la, hey hey hey
He's sure the boy I love)

He doesn't look like a movie star
He doesn't drive a Cadillac car
He sure ain't the boy I've been dreaming of but
He's sure the boy I love

Let me tell ya now
He'd never be a big businessman
He always buys on the installment plan
He sure ain't the boy I've been dreaming of but
He's sure the boy I love

When he holds me tight,
Everything's right
Crazy as it seems
I'm his, whatever he is,
And I forget all of my dreams
And everybody knows

He doesn't hang diamonds round my neck, oh-oh
And all he's got's an unemployment check
He sure ain't the boy I've been dreaming of but
He's sure the boy I love

[instrumental bridge]

When he holds me tight,
Everything's right
Crazy as it seems
I'm his, whatever he is,
And I forget all of my dreams
Oh-oh-oh-oh

He doesn't hang diamonds round my neck
And all he's got's an unemployment check
He sure ain't the boy I've been dreaming of but
He's sure the boy I love

He's sure the boy I love
He's sure the boy I love
[repeat and fade out]

Written by Barry Mann and his partner and wife Cynthia Weil, this hit was originally recorded by The Crystals with Darlene Love on lead vocals. The single was released in Dec 1962 with WALKIN' ALONG (LA-LA-LA) as B-side, and reached #11 on the Billboard chart in the US. The song was also released on their 1963 album He's A Rebel, and it can now be found on several compilation, including The Best Of The Crystals: The Original Phil Spector Hits that was released in 1992.

As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen performed the song only once, during the 1st leg of the "Lawsuit Tour", on 01 Aug 1976 at Monmouth Arts Centre, Red Bank, NJ. The song was played in the SHE'S SURE THE GIRL I LOVE version.

Available Versions

List of available versions of HE'S SURE THE BOY I LOVE on this website:

Page last updated: 07 Jun 2007