I didn’t survive to make you mad
I didn’t survive to please my dad
Using me for your evil games
You don’t even call me by my real name
It’s a hard world for those who walk outside the lines others draw. For trans folks, every step feels like trudging through thorns, facing the cold slap of prejudice at every turn. People insist on seeing you through their own narrow lenses, misgendering, deadnaming—refusing to accept what’s right in front of them. It’s not just ignorance; it’s cruelty, deliberate and sharp. In closed-minded communities, being queer is a fight just to exist. You carry the weight of their fear, their scorn, and the brutal reminder that in their world, you’re seen as something to fix or erase entirely.
Philadelphia punk outfit Wax Jaw tackles these themes with brute force in the fiery Boy’s Life, a brilliant tirade against the status quo and those who use the rainbow force as a means to exploit for capital or political gain. Out now via Born Losers Records, Boy’s Life is a furious political anthem about trans visibility. The track overflows with gay rage as Morgan refuses to be a pawn in the hypocritical games of those who seek to serve only themselves.
“Boy’s Life tells my story as a queer trans masculine person, embracing my own truth and struggling to be accepted in a world that uses the queer community as a political chess piece,” says Morgan. “I channeled my own gay rage to communicate in this song that I refuse to be a pawn for someone else’s hypocritical gain.”
Much like a bruised and battered underdog, Daniel Rosendale’s video casts Shane Morgan into the raw streets of Philly, where every punch he throws lands harder against a world stacked high with obstacles. You see him sweat and swing through the city’s maze—dodging the sharp-edged words of disapproving teachers, outpacing the taunts of jocks itching for a fight, shrugging off the cold stares of dogmatic priests, and pushing past the tired indifference of parents who just don’t get it. Morgan’s journey isn’t one of flashy victories, but gritty survival. Each hit, each step is a refusal to back down, a struggle for space in a world that keeps shoving him into corners. It’s a fist clenched tight, carving out a path through the rough-and-tumble streets of “the City of Brotherly Love,” a testament to sheer, stubborn will. The video doesn’t glorify the fight; it honours the bruises you earn along the way.
Watch the video for “Boys Life” below:
Wax Jaw sprang to life in the lazy hum of summer, where Greg Blanc and Sean Vannata—bass and guitar in hand—dreamed up bright, bouncing beats that could shake the cobwebs off any listener. Their vision was simple but sharp: songs that crackled with energy, pulling people from their feet and into a frenzy. They couldn’t have guessed just how quickly their creation would shoot through Philly’s bustling music scene after their debut Between the Teeth hit in 2023. Their live shows? A whirlwind—fans diving, thrashing, dancing to Shane Morgan’s bold, charismatic lead, cutting their teeth alongside bands like Wine Lips, Shannon and the Clams, and Bad Nerves.
Listen to Boy’s Life below or order here.
Tour dates:
- 12/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
- 12/13 – Lancaster, PA @ Little Mutants
- 12/14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls
- 12/15 – Washington D.C. @ DC9
- 12/20 – New York City, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom
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