Andrew Smiler wonders why there has never been a true “male anthem” in popular music.
Women have “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” by Cyndi Lauper and “Man! I feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain.
Guys? I’m not sure. I listen to a lot of music, especially pop music. In the three decades I’ve been listening, I can’t think of a song that talks about guys the way Cyndi and Shania talk about girls.
I’m starting to wonder if there are any “male anthems”—songs that the vast majority of guys can connect with, but relatively few girls will really “get.” It’s the kind of song that when it comes on, all the guys start singing along, but none of the women do.
Some female anthem songs are relationship songs. On the down side, there are things like Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch” and Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughtta Know.” Then there are songs like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” and Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)”. Admittedly, Clarkson’s song tells basically the same story as “I Will Survive,” just updated for a new century.
The late Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard for the Money” speaks to women’s strength to endure hardship.
At parties, women sing along and dance to these songs, but guys avoid these songs. Well, the straight guys anyway. Several of the effeminate gay men I know celebrate these songs the way that women do.
I don’t hear—and can’t really come up with—any songs that make me think “male anthem.” I know that there’s a subgenre of rap songs where the performers basically introduce themselves and talk about how great they are, but none of those seem like they have a broad enough appeal.
In fact, I’m not quite sure what a male anthem would sound like. The closest I can get are things like George Thorogood’s “Born to Be Bad,” but I think the only parties where I’ve heard that played—and sung loudly by a group of guys—happened in fraternity houses. Personally, I’m not sure that bad-ass image is something we should be celebrating. It certainly doesn’t really sound like a “good man.”
The Good Men Project has agreed to take nominations and help figure it out. Please leave your suggestions in the comments below. Give us the title and the artist’s name and we’ll do the rest. Remember that comments with 2 or more links are automatically held for moderation, so there may be a short time before they appear.
Deadline: July 27 (the opening of the Summer Olympics)
Photo of music instruments courtesy of Shutterstock
About Andrew Smiler
Frank Sinatra is not exactly pop music, for most of our age groups anyway. But there’s a mythic maleness, a tough eloquence, about his music and image.
I could see “My Way” as an anthem with its theme of self-determination. Maybe “One For My Baby (and one more for the road)” as another, which is about love, loss, drink, and honor – it includes the line, spoken to a bartender, “I could tell you a lot, but you’ve got to be true to your code.”
And oh yes, how could we forget the Monty Python Penis Song!
Cat’s In the Cradle
If you take note of the lyrics from the perspective of relationships and gender roles, then Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe”, while perhaps not suited for an all-around anthem of manhood, has some good lessons.
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I can think of loads of real blokey songs and classic rock and pub rock and real MAN songs, but hardly any that actually fit the criteria of celebrating being a male as a male anthem. The only one that I can really think of is one that has already been mentioned – “The Boys are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy. It’s about being a man among men, it’s about maleness, it’s macho, men will always sing along to this when drunk in a pub somewhere, and it is explicit about celebrating masculinity in the same way Cyndi Lauper and Shania Twain celebrate femininity. Probably the best candidate for a male anthem so far that satisfies all the criteria.
“I’m a Man” by the Spencer Davis Group (“there’s whiskers on my chin”)
Or for us GBT or Q guys, “Lola” by The Kinks (“I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man and so’s Lola”)
Why not “It’s a Man’s World” by James Brown or “Mannish Boy” by Muddy Waters and covered by a host of others.
“Man in Black” – Johnny Cash
“Lukewarm” – Jonah Matranga
“Sweet Life” – Jonah Matranga
These are 3 songs by and about very good men.
Will Smith : Men in Black
yup, for me its fine.
Brilliant.
It’s great how an “women’s anthem” celebrates being a whore and reduces men to a paycheck and disposable beast of burden, doesn’t it? Yeah, you go throw away months of hard-earned cash on a ring, otherwise she thinks it’s entirely okay to cheat on you with a man who can and will pay massive amounts of cash to you.
I wonder what that says about women.
For dads? Rodney Atkins, Cleaning This Gun (Come on in Boy). OR Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses
Maybe for TGMP …. Toby Keith – I Wanna Talk About Me
Eruption by Van Halen
Maybe guys don’t need a “I’m a man. I’m strong!” anthem.
Mind you, there’s plenty of Metal/Rock songs on the lines of ” I will take everything you throw at me and keep coming.” “You cannot beat me ” “Stand up and fight back” etc.
Off the top of my head:
Hatebreed – In Ashes You Shall Reap/I will be heard
Disturbed – Indestructible
Tesla – Comin ‘atcha live.
Judas Priest – You Got Another Thing Comin’
Thunder – Stand Up
Saxon – Never Surrender
As with all list making endeavors, there comes a time when the person who originally called for the list needs to hone the criteria. On That Metal Show on VHI Classic they do a Top Five (drummers, songs about Satan, debut records etc.) list every week, and about half the time viewers are disappointed in the picks for the simple reason that the criteria was not made clear and the list is all over the place. In fairness, Eddie Trunk and his co-hosts have admitted that they get the Top Five topic very near to the beginning of the show, so they don’t have time for a lot of criteria-honing.
Is it time for Andrew to post some strict criteria about his call for a male anthem? Will there inevitably be a Top Ten as a result of this piece, and how will it be divined? Or are we OK with just an open thread where everyone can post his idea of which anthems speaks to them about maleness?
sorry Mark, thought I’d posted the link for the follow up: http://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-blog/seeking-a-male-anthem-2nd-verse/
am currently writing the finale. That’ll probably go up Thurs/Fri, so if you have final thoughts, now’s your chance. Better to comment on the 2nd verse piece.
Hey Andrew, you question inspired me enough to write a full-fledged response piece. Thanks
http://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-blog/top-ten-male-anthem-nominees/
Well, there is John Parr’s St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion), which actually is an anthem and is all about surviving and thriving in spite of what life throws at a man.
http://johnparramerica.com/johnparrstelmosfire
For those who don’t know the song, you can watch the video at the link above.
Finally! THe top 10 can be found here:
http://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-blog/finally-the-top-10-top-male-anthems/