originally recorded by The Elgar Sisters; a group formed in the early eighties by guitarist Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson and Björk, written by Björk, Guðlaugur and Thór Eldon. The other B-side is "I Remember You", a cover of the classic love song written by Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer, that was recorded together with "Like Someone in Love", but didn't make the cut as the latter did. In both songs Corky Hale plays the Harp. Composition "Venus as a Boy" has been described as an ambient and chill-out song. Its sound reflected Björk's newly found interest in Bollywood, having befriended people of Indian origin in London, most notably tabla player Talvin Singh, who would later collaborate on the track. She described the composition of the song in an interview with David Hemingway: Björk played keyboards in the song: "I don't use samplers much. I will usually gather soundbanks for each album and will then play them in on keyboards. This applies for simpler beats in songs like Venus as a Boy". She is also responsible for the bassline, in an interview where she described her collaboration with Timbaland she said: "He was a big fan of "Venus as a Boy", the Bollywood strings and I remember him coming up to me at a party and saying he loved the bassline in that song and I felt pretty chuffed because I wrote that!" Since Björk wanted the album to sound like an Indian soundtrack, many tracks including "One Day", "Come to Me" and the same "Venus as a Boy" features Indian instruments. The strings were recorded by a film studio orchestra in Bombay, thanks to Singh. The track heavily uses a vibraphone. The song also contains a sample from "Music for Shō" by Mayumi Miyata (1986). Critical reception The track received positive reviews from music critics. Heather Phares of AllMusic complimented the song and its lyrics, stating that "the album's romantic moments may be its most striking; "Venus as a Boy" fairly swoons with twinkly vibes and lush strings, and Björk's vocals and lyrics -- "His wicked sense of humor/Suggests exciting sex"—are sweet and just the slightest bit naughty". Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a "hip-hop-splashed tune—easily the most accessible cut from her adventurous solo debut." Johnny Dee from NME said the "wonderful" song "creates an Arabic mantra." Gavin Reeve from Smash Hits called it a "gorgeous and uplifting song".