Ullery-Oatney 1

Hayden Ullery-Oatney

Joyce Barnes

ENG.1201

27 September 2020

You’re Just A Boy

The song "If I Were A Boy" by Beyoncé and Reba McEntire share a similar message and

theme; however, the version by Beyoncé uses visual storytelling to take a look at unhealthy

relationships as if she were in her significant other's shoes, while Reba's version appeals heavily

to viewers' emotions with a slower tempo and imagery that echoes a marriage gone wrong. Both

songs mirror each other in the message, but they differ in how they go about being presented to

the viewer. In Beyoncé's version, she almost seems to lament her relationship at the end;

however, we see Reba finally cut loose from a marriage that was tying her down to the house

they used to share.

Beyoncé has an immaculate talent for creating a good story. We can see this through her

visual albums "Lemonade" and "Black Is King". It comes as no surprise that she could hold our

attention when she released the song and music video for "If I Were A Boy". As the video starts,

we see Beyoncé place herself in the man's shoes by switching roles as she plays a cop's position,

and he plays a secretary in an office. She is out all night, and he is attempting to call, looking for

her, while he is at home faithful. She never answers her phone because she is out with another

man. This goes with her lines, "If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone, Tell everyone it's

broken, so they think that I was sleeping alone, I'd put myself first and make the rules as I go,

Cause I know that she'd be faithful, waiting for me to come home." She uses rhetoric to persuade

her audience that a man does not care whether he is out all night with another girl because he
 Ullery-Oatney 2

knows that his significant other will be waiting at home for him. At the end of the music video,

they switch roles again, and he could care less that she did not like him being out all night with

another girl, "But you're just a boy, and you don't understand." This is where Beyoncé seems

somber or filled with sorrow, as she knows she is stuck in a relationship that is not healthy.

Whereas in Reba's music video, we get a different ending. Not only does Beyoncé bring an

important message to life through music, but she also achieves this using ethos and pathos.

In her music video, Beyoncé uses pathos, the first of the three appeals in her song, using

very descriptive phrases. When she states, "I'd listen to her, cause I know how it hurts," Beyoncé

is telling her audience that she understands what it is like to be hurt and that if she were a boy,

she would treat her women better because she could understand where she was coming from.

This tugs at the listener's heart because you can see that she has been emotionally hurt from a

past relationship. Also, many people can relate to what she is disclosing. It is human nature for

people to get emotionally damaged in a relationship, and therefore her feelings have empathized.

She also uses syntax in the way she orders her words by telling a story. If the song were not in

story form, it would not produce a great impact. Furthermore, Beyoncé utilizes ethos, or the

appeals based on the writer's authority and credibility, to influence her writing. Beyoncé is a

universally known pop superstar; she possesses the ability to influence many people. She

establishes her credibility by showing her respect and honesty to her audience. She makes

reasonable claims by singing about a topic that most relationships can relate to. Like many others

she has sung, this song can make a difference in her listeners' lives.

According to the site YouGov, Beyoncé is ranked as the 42nd most popular and 8th most

famous music artist. They also state that millennial women are her target audience, as that is the

group that listens to her most. The song "If I Were A Boy" is meant to target young adult to adult
 Ullery-Oatney 3

women who may have been scorned, hurt, or betrayed in a past relationship. She has done a great

job with her song and music video to deliver a powerful and important message. While Beyoncé

achieved a somber and thought-provoking story, her country music counterpart, Reba McEntire,

slowed down the tempo and delivered a different message with the same lyrics.

Reba McEntire has made a continuing habit of covering pop hits from the past, adding

her own distinctive vocal stamp to what is usually a more country version of the song in

question. It is not a different story for her version of "If I Were A Boy". Reba excelled by

starting the song off in an almost-acoustic fashion before hitting power ballad mode. They even

bury a steel guitar among the leading electric guitar swells in the chorus. However, Beyoncé's

powerful storytelling overshadowed Reba's.

In the newer version of the song that Reba covered, we see her standing in a green dress

as she belts out the song to a slower tempo. As she wanders the hall of an empty house by

herself, we see that the beautiful green dress that she wears has a very long train. Towards the

end of the song, Reba is pictured with a man, which was presumably her husband that she is

singing about. When the final chorus comes around, Reba finally rips off the train to her dress

and leaves the house as a free woman. This ending is very different from Beyoncé's where she is

seen still in a relationship with her unfaithful partner. Like Beyoncé, though, Reba also uses the

rhetoric of pathos to get the audience's attention.

Although Reba did a great job with the cover and trying to put a new spin on the song,

there was a problem. Reba was using pathos to garner an emotional reaction from her audience.

However, her audience knows her character and knows that she probably would not be in this

situation, to begin with. It is hard to fault the singer or the material individually. The song's two

verses offer up the narrator's desires to turn the table on the boys that have hurt her – 'I'd put
 Ullery-Oatney 4

myself first and make the rules as I go/Cause I know that she'll be faithful, waiting for me to

come home' – while the soaring chorus reveals all these things to be in pursuit of better

understanding her man. However, despite all McEntire's vocal swoops and swells, despite her

wringing her lower register for all its melancholy glory at times, I still can't believe her in this

character. She has a different demographic audience than Beyoncé, and I think this version

would appeal more to them than anyone else. While Beyoncé is more popular with a younger

demographic, Reba is most popular with women who identify with the baby boomer generation.

She ranks as the 5th most popular country artist and 12th most famous in her genre. Therefore,

the song may not have been as popular or well-received as her other songs from the same album.

Though the song is beautifully recorded and performed by both women, a different

audience is intended for each version. Though Reba was able to bring a new perspective, mood,

and tone to the song, it fell flat in certain areas. Beyoncé was able to deliver a raw and robust

storytelling experience that won over the audience and captivated listeners for years to come.
 Ullery-Oatney 5

Works Cited

Knowles, Beyonce. “If I Were A Boy.” Beyonce Knowles, I Am… Sasha Fierce, 2008,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWpsOqh8q0M

McEntire, Reba. “If I Were A Boy.” Reba McEntire, All the Women I Am, 2010,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWCZB08UW0

YouGov. “Reba McEntire Popularity & Fame.” YouGov,

today.yougov.com/topics/entertainment/explore/music_artist/Reba_McEntire.

YouGov. “Beyonce Knowles Popularity & Fame.” YouGov,

today.yougov.com/topics/entertainment/explore/music_artist/Beyonce_Knowles.
 Ullery-Oatney 6

Works Cited

AuthorLastName, FirstName. Title of the Book Being Referenced. City Name: Name of

Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g., Print).

LastName, First, Middle. “Article Title.” Journal Title (Year): Pages From - To. Print.