- Album This song officially appears on the Pipes Of Peace Official album.
- Timeline This song has been written (or started being written) in 1981 (Paul McCartney was 39 years old)
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
April 1982
Jun 08, 1983
Aug 25, 1983
Other collaborations with Michael Jackson
Officially appears on Pipes Of Peace
Officially appears on The Girl Is Mine
Related interviews
Paul McCartney Talks 1983 Classic ‘Pipes Of Peace’ With James Dean Bradfield
Sep 30, 2015 • From DIY
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Song facts
“The Man” is a track from 1983 album “Pipes Of Peace“.
[…] if you say ‘The Man’, it can mean God, it can mean ‘Women, listen to your man’, it can mean so many things. Later I did a song with Michael Jackson called ‘The Man’ and again, it’s quite nice leaving things ambiguous: I’m sure for Michael, probably ‘The Man’ meant God.
Paul McCartney, from Club Sandwich N°47/48, Spring 1988, commenting about the song “Listen To What The Man Said”
“The Man” was scheduled to be the third single out of “Pipes Of Peace“, after “Pipes Of Peace” and “Say Say Say“. The release date was set for February 13th, 1984 (under the catalog number Parlophone R 6066). But after Paul and Linda’s drug bust in Barbados and London in January, the release got cancelled. Interestingly the B-side was to be the still unreleased as of 2020, “Blackpool“.
A 12″ version (Parlophone 12 R 6066″) was also scheduled with “The Man” [extended version]/”The Man” [instrumental version]”/”Blackpool”. The extended version has never surfaced.
Last updated on April 5, 2020
Lyrics
There's a man
Who plays the game of life so well
There's such a man
His thoughts you can never tell
And it's just the way he thought it would be
'Cause the day has come for him to be free
Then he laughs, he kicks then rolls up his sleeves
I'm alive and I'm here forever
This is the man
CHORUS
And it's just the way he thought it would be
'Cause the day has come for him to be free
Then he laughs, and kicks and rolls up his sleeves
I'm alive and I'm here forever
This is the man
There's a man
Everybody thought they knew
There's such a man
He's not like me and you
And it's just the way she thought it would be
As he says, something has happened to me
Then he laughs he kicks and rolls up his sleeves
I'm alive and I'm here forever
This is the man
CHORUS
And it's just the way he thought it would be
'Cause the day has come for him to be free
Then he laughs, as he smiles and rolls up his sleeves
I'm alive and I'm here forever
This is the man
Did you know
This man can do anything?
There's such a man
I wish that we could bring
And it's just the way he thought it would be
'Cause the day has come for him to be free,
Then he laughs, he kicks then rolls up his sleeves,
I'm alive and I'm here forever
This is the man
CHORUS
And it's just the way he thought it would be
'Cause the day has come for him to be free
Then he laughs, and kicks and rolls up his sleeves
I'm alive and I'm here forever
This is the man
This is the man
This is the man
This is the man
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 1983
3:56 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Vocals
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Michael Jackson :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Eric Stewart :
- Backing vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Flutes, Strings
- Session Recording:
- May 1981
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Overdubs ? :
- April 1982 ?
- Studio :
- Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, USA
- Session Recording:
- Aug 25, 1983
- Studio :
- Sigma Sound Studios, New York City, USA
- Session Mixing:
- Jun 08, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Official album • Released in 1993
3:55 • Studio version • A • 1993 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Vocals
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Michael Jackson :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Eric Stewart :
- Backing vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Flutes, Strings
- Session Recording:
- May 1981
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Overdubs ? :
- April 1982 ?
- Studio :
- Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, USA
- Session Recording:
- Aug 25, 1983
- Studio :
- Sigma Sound Studios, New York City, USA
- Session Mixing:
- Jun 08, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Pipes Of Peace - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2015
3:55 • Studio version • A2015 • 2015 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Vocals
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Michael Jackson :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Eric Stewart :
- Backing vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Sam Okell :
- Remastering
- Alex Wharton :
- Remastering
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Flutes, Strings
- Session Recording:
- May 1981
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Overdubs ? :
- April 1982 ?
- Studio :
- Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, USA
- Session Recording:
- Aug 25, 1983
- Studio :
- Sigma Sound Studios, New York City, USA
- Session Mixing:
- Jun 08, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Bootlegs
Unofficial album • Released in 2015
4:00 • Studio version • Rough Mix (Unknown Acetate)
Pipes Of Peace - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2016
3:56 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Vocals
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Michael Jackson :
- Backing vocals, Vocals
- Eric Stewart :
- Backing vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Flutes, Strings
- Session Recording:
- May 1981
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Overdubs ? :
- April 1982 ?
- Studio :
- Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, USA
- Session Recording:
- Aug 25, 1983
- Studio :
- Sigma Sound Studios, New York City, USA
- Session Mixing:
- Jun 08, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Live performances
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
Going further
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
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seven songs Michael Jackson wrote or co-wrote for other artists - Africa Update Newspaper 2 years ago
[…] it can mean God, it can mean ‘Women, listen to your man,’ it can mean so many things,” said Paul McCartney of the track. “Later, I did a song with Michael Jackson called ‘The Man’ and again, […]