When I Was a Boy

{{for|the 1993 short film|When I Was a Boy (film)}}

{{distinguish|text=the songs by The Who, Electric Light Orchestra and Dar Williams}}

{{Infobox album

| name = When I Was a Boy

| type = Studio album

| artist = Jane Siberry

| cover = Jane Siberry-When I Was a Boy (album cover).jpg

| alt =

| released = August 3, 1993

| recorded = June 1991–January 1993
Mushroom Studios, Vancouver
Reaction Studios, Toronto
Westside Studios, London

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Ambient{{cite web |author= |title=When I Was a Boy |date=3 August 1993 |url=http://www.discogs.com/Jane-Siberry-When-I-Was-A-Boy/release/186386 |publisher=Discogs |accessdate=}}
Synthpop
Downtempo

| length = 66:23

| label = Reprise/Warner Bros. Records
26824

| producer = Jane Siberry, Brian Eno (tracks 1 and 4), Michael Brook (track 3)

| prev_title = Bound by the Beauty

| prev_year = 1989

| next_title = Maria

| next_year = 1995

}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-i-was-a-boy-mw0000619725|title=When I Was a Boy – Jane Siberry|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=May 11, 2017|last=Parisien|first=Roch}}

| rev2 = Chicago Tribune

| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/11/25/celestial-standout/|title=Celestial Standout|work=Chicago Tribune|date=November 25, 1993|access-date=May 11, 2017|last=McCormick|first=Moira}}

| rev3 = The Philadelphia Inquirer

| rev3score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite news|title=Jane Siberry sings angelic love songs, guitarists celebrate Wes Montgomery|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=August 31, 1993|last=Wood|first=Sam}}

| rev4 = Q

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Jane Siberry: When I Was a Boy|magazine=Q|issue=83|date=August 1993|page=100}}

| rev5 = Rolling Stone

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=52049&cf=352|title=Jane Siberry: When I Was a Boy|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=November 25, 1993|accessdate=May 11, 2017|last=Walls|first=Richard C.|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030418085038/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=52049&cf=352|archivedate=April 18, 2003|url-status=dead}}

| rev6 = The Village Voice

| rev6score = B−{{cite news|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv394-94.php|title=Consumer Guide|work=The Village Voice|date=April 5, 1994|accessdate=May 11, 2017|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau}}

}}

When I Was a Boy is a 1993 album by Jane Siberry. Internationally, it is her most famous album. In Siberry's native Canada, however, the album was commercially successful but not as big a hit as her 1985 album The Speckless Sky.

The album includes Siberry's most famous song, "Calling All Angels", a duet with k.d. lang which appeared on two movie soundtracks, Until the End of the World in 1991 and Pay It Forward in 2000. The song was also sung by cast members of Six Feet Under in a scene from the episode "The Rainbow of Her Reasons." "Sail Across the Water" and "Temple" were the other singles from the album.

Several songs included electronic textures; "Temple" was Siberry's first song that was popular in dance clubs. The album was also Siberry's first to explore more spiritual themes, which would become a hallmark of her later music.Scott Gray, [http://ascentmagazine.com/articles.aspx?articleID=75&page=read&subpage=past&issueID=14 "Sing a Little Sweeter"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208084350/http://ascentmagazine.com/articles.aspx?articleID=75&page=read&subpage=past&issueID=14 |date=2009-02-08 }}. Ascent.

On The Tragically Hip's 1997 live album Live Between Us, Gordon Downie sings the chorus from "Temple" in that album's track "Nautical Disaster".