Real Men

Words & Music:

Joe Jackson

 

Bb  C  [3x]

 

Dm                   C            F

Take your mind back, I don't know when.

C                 Dm               C              Bb

Sometimes when it always seemed to be just us and them.

Dm                    C              F

Girls that wore pink, boys that wore blue.

C                Dm             C               Bb

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?  Is he cultural and clean?

Now it's all changed, it's got to change more,

'Cause we think it's getting better but nobody's really sure.

 

CHORUS :

Bb        C     Bb         C         Bb      C       Bb     C       F    G   A

And so it goes, go round again; but, now and then we wonder who the real men are.

A     G    A    G    Fm    A    G    A    G    Fm

Whoa, oh-----------------------------------------!

 

Am   Bb   C   Bb   C

 

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 gays are macho, can't you 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, and handsome and strong,

You can wear the uniform and I could play along.

 

CHORUS:

 

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, 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.

 

CHORUS:

 





Back to the Songbook Index.

This page's content is copyrighted ©1977-2008 by Kristin C. Hall. Please drop me a line (via "dink (at) media (dot) mit (dot) edu") if you wish to use it or link to it or correct it! Please send comments, suggestions, fixes and general mischievious mayhem to the web diva via the above email address. (sorry, spambots have forced me to remove my automatic mail link.) Many thanks...and enjoy!

Note to lawyers and any other litigious-minded folk:
I am not trying to screw anyone out of royalties, etc. I have posted these only as a helpful resources for teachers, camp counselors and people who like to "sing along with Mitch", if you will. If you do not want your work posted to these pages, please just email me (via "dink (at) media (dot) mit (dot) edu") and I shall remove it.