Take your mind back - I don't know when
Sometime when it always seemed
To be just us and them
Girls that wore pink
Boys that wore blue
Boys that always grew up better men
Than me and you
What's a man now - what's a man mean
Is he rough or is he rugged
cultural and clean
Now it's all change - it's got to change more
We think it's getting better
But nobody's really sure
And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are
See the nice boys - dancing in pairs
Golden earring golden tan
Blow-wave in the hair
Sure they're all straight - straight as a line
All the guys are macho
see their leather shine
You don't want to sound dumb - don't want to offend
So don't call me a faggot
Not unless you are a friend
Then if you're tall, handsome and strong
You can wear the uniform and I could play along
And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are
Time to get scared - time to change plan
Don't know how to treat a lady
Don't know how to be a man
Time to admit - what you call defeat
'Cause there's women running past you now
And you just drag your feet
Man makes a gun - man goes to war
Man can kill and man can drink
And man can take a whore
Kill all the blacks - kill all the reds
If there's war between the sexes
Then there'll be no people left
And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are
And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are
And so it goes - go round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are
* original version by Joe Jackson
from Night and Day
Tori Quotes
"At one point, 'Real Men' was starting the record, but then it was like, 'No, that's not how the record should start. There's nothing that can follow it.' It became the heart of the record, really. 'Don't call me a faggot/Not unless you are a friend,' is the obvious one for your readers. That song has always been such a mantra for tolerance. What really struck me was the line, 'You can wear the uniform/And I can play along.' I kind of cocked my head on that one. I giggle. And, 'If there's war between the sexes/there'll be no people left...'" [Next - September 7, 2001]
"The girl in Real Men... She embodies both the male and the female, makes true bridges between both sexes in her soul. Somebody with a lot of feeling for ethics." [Oor - September 8, 2001]
"She's an androgynous being, like a seahorse. Her essence is anima/animus combined, of the joining of two in one. It's a woman who has really integrated her animus. And this is what she projects to the world. Neil [Gaiman] is convinced she's a he, but I don't agree. I think she's androgynous." [AP - October 2001]
Live Versions
"Real Men"
November 16, 2001 - Los Angeles, California The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
"Real Men"
September 16, 2017 - Frankfurt, Germany
t o r i p h o r i a tori amos digital archive yessaid.com
