The Man
Single | Lover (2019)
Background and Release
In 2022, “The Man” was featured in the official Record Store Day compilation album Portraits of Her, a 16-track limited-edition vinyl album featuring tracks donated by groundbreaking female artists, with sales of the album benefitting “We Are Moving The Needle,” a nonprofit organization that supports female recording industry professionals, including audio engineers and producers. Portraits of Her was available at independent record stores on Record Store Day, April 23, 2022, which was the 15th anniversary of the global celebration of the independent record store. Taylor was named “Global Ambassador” of the occasion.
Lyrical Theme
«This is a song that I have wanted to write for a very long time but never knew exactly how to. I often think about what my career and the headlines about it would have been like, if I had been a man instead of a woman. Not, 'What would I do differently?', but if I had the same accomplishments, the same mistakes, the same dating history, the same statements…What would have been different? So ‘The Man’ is about what would have been, if I had been a dude and my approximations of it.»
Music Video
«With 'The Man' music video, I wanted to show a heightened reaction of how the world reacts to someone who's male, hot, rich, young and cocky. I wanted to show how there's immediate approval and benefit of the doubt given, in a ridiculous way.»
Critical Reception
Commercial Performance
In the United States, following the release of the album Lover, “The Man” debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was eventually serviced to the US adult contemporary and pop radio formats on January 27, 2020, as the fourth single from Lover. The single quickly became pop radio’s most added song of the week dated January 27, 2020. It also topped the list of most added songs of the week by adult contemporary radio.
In Europe, “The Man” charted at No. 16 in Ireland, 62 in Netherlands, 24 in Norway, 82 in Scotland, 63 in Sweden and 80 in Switzerland. It reached No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart.
Impact
In March 2020, British politician Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for International Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities of the United Kingdom, quoted the song’s lyrics during a special International Women’s Day debate in the British parliament, while talking about the need for gender equality across the workforce and greater protection for women against domestic violence. Truss stated: “And so that, in the words of the brilliant Taylor Swift in her new song, ‘women are left running as fast as they can, wondering if they’d get there quicker if they were a man’.”
American journalist Jody Rosen, writing for The New York Times, listed “The Man” as one of the “25 songs that matter now”. Describing Taylor as “pop’s best humblebraggart”, Rosen termed “The Man” as a “sly protest song”, explaining that Taylor “has been pop’s top bellyacher, turning a now-familiar set of grievances into great songs”. He added that she “channels that indignation into a broader protest against the sexism and skepticism that all women face”. Rosen also opined that the song’s “most hard-hitting line is a plaintive rhetorical question that calls to mind a #MeToo movement slogan: #BelieveWomen”. Naming “The Man” as the “most important” song Taylor has ever written, Brittany Hodak of Forbes, commended that “the magic of “The Man” is not just that it captures a complex (and often misunderstood) issue so brilliantly and simply, but also that it conveys to Swift’s female fans that even she isn’t above the BS that so many of us are regularly subjected to”. Hodak concluded that she is “hopeful that Swift’s spotlight on the issue will spark a national conversation about sexism, power, and equality”.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I would be complex, I would be cool
They’d say I played the field before I found someone to commit to
And that would be okay for me to do
Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you
[Pre-chorus]
I’d be a fearless leader
I’d be an alpha type
When everyone believes ya:
What’s that like?
[Chorus]
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can
Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man
And I’m so sick of them coming at me again
‘Cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man
I’d be the man
I’d be the man
[Verse 2]
They’d say I hustled, put in the work
They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve
What I was wearing, if I was rude
Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves
[Pre-chorus]
And they would toast to me, oh
Let the players play
I’d be just like Leo in Saint-Tropez
[Chorus]
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can
Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man
And I’m so sick of them coming at me again
‘Cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man
I’d be the man
I’d be the man
[Bridge]
What’s it like to brag about raking in dollars?
And getting bitches and models?
And it’s all good if you’re bad
And it’s okay if you’re mad
If I was out flashing my dollars
I’d be a bitch, not a baller
They’d paint me out to be bad
So, it’s okay that I’m mad
[Chorus Breakdown]
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can
Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man (You know that)
[Chorus]
And I’m so sick of them coming at me again (Coming at me again)
‘Cause if I was a man (If I was a man)
Then I’d be the man (Then I’d be the man)
I’m so sick of running as fast as I can (As fast as I can)
Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man (Hey!)
And I’m so sick of them coming at me again (Coming at me again)
‘Cause if I was a man (If I was a man)
Then I’d be the man
I’d be the man
I’d be the man (Oh)
I’d be the man (Yeah)
I’d be the man (I’d be the man)
[Outro]
If I was a man, then I’d be the man
| Album | Lover | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released | August 23, 2019 | |||
| Studio | Electric Lady (New York City) Golden Age West (Auckland) | |||
| Genre | Synth Pop Electro Pop | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | Republic Records | |||
| Songwriters | Taylor Swift Joel Little | |||
| Producers | Joel Little Taylor Swift | |||
LOVER CHRONOLOGY | ||||
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