The Musician Insight

The many facettes of our realities: a woman’s narrative

Wishing to give her take on James Brown’s It’s a Man Man’s World (1966), Neneh Cherry collaborated with Cameron McVey and Jonathan Sharp, writing Woman.

Released as a part of her third album Man (1996), Woman is a pure feminist anthem, giving a voice to women and mothers everywhere. While It’s a Man’s Man World describes the condition of men as  masters of industry and the world, Woman deeps into the daily life of women everywhere in a world where men are privileged. From the start, we have an instrumental typical of the trip-hop genre: two electric guitars, drums and strings, emphasizing the mysterious and adventurous feeling of the song.

Woman tackles on subjects such as the hard task to create a life of our own and the pressure it can come with it, for our success has to be perfect: “you gotta be fortunate, you gotta be lucky now”. But this success, whether spiritual, familial or professional, can’t be ours: “I crackled the fire and been called a liar” for women are mostly seen as not capable of high achievement on their own. Since the start of the song, Cherry makes it clear that our world is one of resilience, with the constant battle of protecting ourselves (“they tried erasing me, they couldn’t wipe out my past”) and of despite all, bringing love into a cynical society (“They can’t deliver love, in a man’s world”).

Woman portrays all types of women, including mothers and the sacrifices they have to make out of love and care for their children: “to save my child, I rather go hungry”. This can be opposed to A Man’s Man World overall messages of men ruling the world and of women giving a purpose to its existence. Overall, Woman is the story of women around the world, giving them hope and a sense of community. Through her well-crafted lyrics, Cherry gives a voice to a human experience that is too often hushed and perceived as “less than”, putting it into perspective and showing the trials and tribulations of our realities.

Photo © Wolfgang Tilmans