Boy

Boy is the debut studio album by Irish rock band U2.

The album’s theme is the psychological nature of the transition of adolescence from childhood to manhood, with lyrics and atmospheric music examining a dawn of sexuality (“An Cat Dubh”), the entry into adolescence (“Twilight”), mortality (“Out of Control”), the exile from one’s past enforced by the passage of time (“Into the Heart”), mental disturbance (“The Electric Co.”) and youthful ambition (“The Ocean”). “I Will Follow” focused on the trauma of the early death of Bono’s mother when he was 14 years old.

The album’s lyrics contain several literary references. For example, “Shadows and Tall Trees” takes its name from a chapter title in the dystopian William Golding novel Lord of the Flies, and “The Ocean” mentions Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.

The boy on the cover is Peter Rowen, the younger brother of Bono’s friend. He also appeared on the covers of Three, War, The Best of 1980–1990, the unreleased Even Better than the Early Stuff, Early Demos and many singles.