Sk8er Boi

"Sk8er Boi" is a song by Avril Lavigne, and was the second single from her debut album, Let Go (2002). It was written by Avril Lavigne and The Matrix (Scott Spock, Lauren Christy, and Graham Edwards), and produced by The Matrix. Released in 2002, the single reached number ten on the United States Billboard Hot 100 (becoming Lavigne's second top ten single there), number eight in the United Kingdom, number three in Australia, number thirteen in Canada and number one in Spain, becoming her second successful song to date after Girlfriend and Complicated. During a 2008 interview Lavigne confirmed the song was about the award-winning performance poet Gerard McKeown, who she had not met, but had seen him performing in Belfast, Northern Ireland while on tour there. The music video, directed by Francis Lawrence, begins with a man in the alley of a city with a pile of spray paint on the ground. The video continues with posters that have a star on them advertising a concert Lavigne hosts, where people use their cars and amps to have the concert on the streets. The police arrive and attempt to stop it. At the end of the video, Lavigne crashes her guitar into the car windscreen and a helicopter appears overhead. While singing, Lavigne wears a t-shirt with the logo for Wilkesboro Elementary School, a North Carolina elementary school. After the video was released, the school was flooded with so many requests for the t-shirts that they were able to buy computers with the extra revenue from t-shirt sales. The compilation album A Japanese Tribute to Avril Lavigne features a cover version of "Sk8er Boi" by Becky. Eurodance group Cascada recorded a dance cover of the song for the European and Japanese editions of their 2007 album Perfect Day. A cover version of the song by Angela Michael appears in the video game Elite Beat Agents for the Nintendo DS. The song is also included in SingStar Pop, a PlayStation 2 game. "Sk8er Boi" is featured in the television series Cold Case (Season 3, "The Promise", October 2, 2005). In the HBO miniseries Generation Kill, a U.S. Marine sings the song during the episode "Get Some". In 2003, Paramount Pictures optioned the song for adaptation into a feature film. As of April 2008, the film has apparently been abandoned or is in development hell. Also in 2003, Australian Sketch Show Big Bite did a sendup of Sk8ter Boi that was called 'It's just the sales boy'. In 2006, Criterion Games included the song in Burnout Paradise. The song was cited in many reviews as one of the worst shortcomings of the game. However, the song can be removed from the game's music playlist and both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of the game support custom soundtracks.

[Verse 1] He was a boy, she was a girl Can I make it any more obvious? He was a punk, she did ballet What more can I say? He wanted her, she'd never tell Secretly she wanted him as well But all of her friends stuck up their nose They had a problem with his baggy clothes [Chorus] He was a skater boy, she said, “See you later, boy” He wasn't good enough for her She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space She needed to come back down to earth [Verse 2] Five years from now, she sits at home Feeding the baby, she's all alone She turns on TV, guess who she sees Skater boy rockin' up MTV She calls up her friends, they already know And they've all got tickets to see his show She tags along, stands in the crowd Looks up at the man that she turned down [Chorus] He was a skater boy, she said, “See you later, boy” He wasn't good enough for her Now he's a superstar slammin' on his guitar Does your pretty face see what he's worth? He was a skater boy, she said, “See you later, boy” He wasn't good enough for her Now he's a superstar slammin' on his guitar Does your pretty face see what he's worth? [Bridge] Sorry, girl, but you missed out Well, tough luck, that boy's mine now We are more than just good friends This is how the story ends Too bad that you couldn't see See the man that boy could be There is more than meets the eye I see the soul that is inside He's just a boy and I'm just a girl Can I make it any more obvious? We are in love, haven't you heard How we rock each other's world? [Chorus] (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I'm with the skater boy (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I said, "See you later, boy" (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I'll be backstage after the show (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I'll be at our studio (Yeah, yeah, yeah) Singin' the song we wrote (Yeah, yeah, yeah) About a girl you used to know (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I'm with the skater boy (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I said, "See you later, boy" (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I'll be backstage after the show (Yeah, yeah, yeah) I'll be at our studio (Yeah, yeah, yeah) Singin' the song we wrote (Yeah, yeah, yeah) About a girl you used to know