"Poor Boy" was a song written by Tim Finn and recorded by

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band bui ...

for their 1980 '' True Colours'' album. It was released as a single in the UK only.

The song

The lyrics concerned a young man who had fallen in love with a girl on another planet, who he had only discovered existed when tuning his radio, and his regret that they will never meet face to face. The song made use of an ethereal keyboard solo by Eddie Rayner.

In popular culture

In 2009 a

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

production of the same name redeveloped the song's themes, with the other-worldly character presented as the ghost of a car accident.

Track listing

''Released in the United Kingdom only.'' #"Poor Boy" 3:28 #"Missing Person (Live)" 3:39

Personnel

* Tim Finn -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

- vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

* Noel Crombie -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Malcolm Green -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

* Nigel Griggs -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Eddie Rayner - vocals, keyboards

ENZSO version

"Poor Boy" is a song by Enzso, released as the first single from their album '' Enzso''. With the B-sides "I See Red", which is available on the album, and "Albert of India".

Track listing

#"Poor Boy" -

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then h ...

#"I See Red" - Tim Finn #"Albert of India" - Eddie Rayner

References

{{Split Enz Split Enz songs 1980 singles Songs written by Tim Finn 1995 singles Enzso songs 1980 songs Mushroom Records singles