Switching Places

Beyonce's song, "If I Were a Boy," depicts what most girls in a bad relationship think and feel. Prince's song, "If I Was Your Girlfriend," tries to make girls, or girlfriends, live in their boyfriend's shoes and try and understand what they feel in a relationship. The combination of these two song are quite entertaining actually, because both songs are begging for the opposite sex to understand their own point of view.
The twist of Beyonce's song is clever and creative. Most lyricist go for the straight forward approach, like having the singer talk of a broken heart due to a cheating lover, or a situation where a woman stands by her man even though he treats her poorly. This song, however, is exciting because the singer tells of her heartbreak by comparing her pain to the 'what if' factor to her lover.
In the beginning of the song, the singer is simply saying that it would be nice to be a man because they never have to worry about what they look like or what they do because society, being expectations of our culture, gives men that freedom but not women. The singer continues into a heavier subject: love. She goes on saying that if she were a man, she would love and appreciate her girlfriend. It's interesting, though, for after she makes this promise, the next stanza she sings, "If I were a boy/I would turn off my phone/ Tell everyone it's broken/So they'd think that I was sleeping alone.."( Stanza 5) This lyric proves that even though the singer claims she would treat her woman differently if she were a man, she knows it's inevitable that she, too, would act like a man. The lyric expresses that men act the way they do because it's in their blood; it's their demeanor. 304
Prince's song is more playful and provoking than Beyonce's song. Beyonce's song is about heartbreak and pain, but Prince use is sex swap as a way to get his girl into bed with him. He is trying to convince her that he means well and loves her so she will be with him. I don't think he's saying this with any malice in his heart. I just think he wants his girl to be comfortable with him. It sounds like he wants his girl do all these things like, "Would you let me wash your hair/Could I make you breakfast sometime.."(Stanza 3) so he supports his question by saying that she would like it if he did theses things for her.
Again, Prince's song is more playful and light-hearted compared to Beyonce's song. These are good examples of how men and women differ in how they handle difficult situations.