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"Alphabet Boy", also registered as "Alphabet City",[2] is a song by Melanie Martinez featured as the fifth track on her debut album, Cry Baby.
Two 15-second snippets were posted for the song, one in the summer of 2014 and the other in the spring of 2015. Melanie confirmed that the song would be on the album during a livestream via Periscope on June 1st, 2015. Melanie posted another snippet on her Instagram on July 29th, 2015.
The music video was released on June 2nd, 2016.
Theme[]
According to Melanie, Alphabet Boy was a boy she used to date in college. He studied music and he used to try and "teach" her how to write songs as if there was a formula or that she wasn't writing songs "correctly." It made her furious and she wanted to elaborate on that. She told VICE that "Alphabet Boy" is her and Cry Baby's break-up song.[3]
Story[]
After the events of "Carousel", Cry Baby decides to break things off with Alphabet Boy. She realizes he isn't worth her care or love. Cry Baby proves she's just as smart as him, if not smarter, after his attempts to put himself above her fail. She leaves him in the end, mentioning she isn't a "little kid now" and can make mature decisions for herself, putting Cry Baby on the path of her growth and maturity.
Lyrics[]
[Refrain]
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Buh-buh-buh-buh, buh-buh-buh
Buh-buh-buh-buh
[Verse 1]
Always aiming paper airplanes at me when you're around
You build me up like building blocks just so you can bring me down
You can crush my candy cane but you'll never catch me cry
If you dangle that diploma and I dead you don't be surprised
[Pre-chorus]
I know my ABC's, yet you keep teaching me
I say fuck your degree, alphabet boy
You think you're smarter than me with all your bad poetry
Fuck all your ABC's, alphabet boy
[Chorus]
I'm not a little kid now
Watch me get big now
Spell my name on a fridge now
With all your alphabet toys
You won the spelling bee now
But are you smarter than me now?
You're the prince of the playground
Little alphabet boy
[Refrain]
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Buh-buh-buh-buh, buh-buh-buh
Buh-buh-buh-buh
[Verse 2]
Apples aren't always appropriate apologies
Butterscotch and bubblegum drops are bittersweet to me
You call me a child while you keep counting all your coins
But you're not my daddy and I'm not your dolly
And your dictionary's destroyed
[Pre-chorus]
I know my ABC's, yet you keep teaching me
I say fuck your degree, alphabet boy
You think you're smarter than me with all your bad poetry
Fuck all your ABC's, alphabet boy
[Chorus]
I'm not a little kid now
Watch me get big now
Spell my name on a fridge now
With all your alphabet toys
You won the spelling bee now
But are you smarter than me now?
You're the prince of the playground
Little alphabet boy
[Breakdown]
Alphabet boy
Oh, alphabet boy
Alphabet boy
Alphabet boy
My alphabet boy
Ooh-ooh
[Chorus]
I'm not a little kid now
Watch me get big now
Spell my name on a fridge now
With all your alphabet toys
You won the spelling bee now
But are you smarter than me now?
You're the prince of the playground
Little alphabet boy
[Refrain]
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Ah-ah-aaah, buh-buh-buh-buh
Buh-buh-buh-buh, buh-buh-buh
Buh-buh-buh-buh
Alphabet boy
Alphabet boy
Ooh, yeah
Alphabet boy
Official versions[]
| Version | Released on | Release date | Producer(s) | Creation date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | Final | Cry Baby | August 14th, 2015 | One Love | ~April 4th, 2014 | 4:13 |
| ▶ | Clean version | Cry Baby | August 14th, 2015 | One Love | ~April 4th, 2014 | 4:13 |
| Instrumental | Unreleased | Leaked: Undocumented | One Love | - | 4:13 | |
| "alphabet boy 01" (unmixed) | Unreleased | Unleaked | One Love | 2014 | 4:13 | |
| "alphabet boy 02 (clean)" (unmixed clean version) | Unreleased | Leaked: November 20th, 2021 | One Love | 2014 | 4:13 |
Gallery[]
-07.png "Digital Booklet - Cry Baby (Deluxe)-07.png (724 KB)")
.JPG "Image1 (1).JPG (99 KB)")
Music video[]
Melanie took the reins as the director for the music video, transforming it into an engaging sing-along experience complete with on-screen lyrics. True to the Cry Baby theme, the self-directed video is a vibrant display of pastel colors and a childlike persona embodied by Melanie. Throughout the video, a hand, likely belonging to the Alphabet Boy himself, playfully teases her, yet she steadfastly resists. Scenes in the video include Cry Baby spelling out explicit words with magnets on the fridge, indulging in a bowl of cereal with milk, and holding a sizable knife. There's a moment where she playfully squirts the camera with a water gun that bears a striking resemblance to a real firearm, offering viewers a glimpse into her edgy and potentially dangerous side as she waves it provocatively at the camera, suggesting a potential attack.
Cast[]
- Cry Baby: Melanie Martinez
- Hands (most likely Alphabet Boy): Unknown
Trivia[]
- This song and "Dead To Me" are both aftermaths of "Carousel".
- This is one of Jose Martinez's favorite songs recorded for Cry Baby, along with "Pity Party", "Haunted" and "Cake."[4]
- Melanie's uncle, Juan Vargas, teased lyrics of the song on April 5th, 2014, via his Twitter account.[1]
- Many fans speculate that this song is about Jared Dylan. Jared is also a songwriter and it would fit into the storyline of the song, as Alphabet Boy thinks he is better than Cry Baby and wants to "teach" her his ways.
- This song has heavy alliteration in the lyrics and also in the stanzas. The lines descend from A, to B, to C and to D.
- As a result of this, it became one of the hardest songs on Cry Baby to write, along with "Mrs. Potato Head".
- This is the longest song on both the standard edition and deluxe edition of the Cry Baby album.
- "Alphabet Boy" was certified gold on March 8th, 2018.
- Stella Rose Saint Clair designed the outfit that Melanie wore in the music video of this song.
- Although Alphabet Boy is referenced throughout the whole song, he does not appear on camera in the music video, though what are assumed to be his hands appear.
- The music video reached over 100 million views on YouTube on January 26th, 2019, making it Melanie's fifth music video and her second non-single music video to reach this achievement.
- This is one of the few songs that was performed on the Dollhouse Tour before the release of Cry Baby.
- Every time Cry Baby stabs the camera, she sings the words "Alphabet Boy."
- This song's music video is Melanie's only music video to contain lyrics at the bottom of the screen.
- Melanie had vocalized the songs breakdown 4 times throughout the song.
- Melanie used sign language for A, B, and C in her music video when she sung, "I know my ABC's, yet you keep teaching me" in the first part of the pre-chorus.
- This song's lyrics and music video make multiple references to both "Dead To Me" and "Bittersweet Tragedy".
- The story and illustration for this song appear on the 9th page of the Cry Baby storybook, reading:
Alphabet Boy's Digital Booklet Page
"She cried until she then could see
That he wasn’t even worthy
Of all her love and abc's
So she spelt fuck you in 1 2 3"
