Is that Taylor Swift? Is it really? Is it really Taylor? Yes, well… maybe. You’ll have to judge for yourself when you watch her new video “Man,” starring, well… a man.
Swift, who is becoming more political and socially conscious with her music, tackles the celebration of male chauvinism with her new song and video, released this morning (Feb. 27).
And, yes, (spoiler alert!) that’s her, as a man…
She sings the following:
“I would be complex
I would be cool
They’d say I played the field before I found someone to commit to
And that would be ok”
Get it? Boorish behavior is ok… for a man.
But that’s not all. She sings about being an alpha type, fearless leader.
“They’d say I hustled
Put in the work
They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve
What I was wearing
If I was rude
Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves”
The general consensus is the song is taking a shot at Scooter Braun, the music manager who bought most of her music catalog apparently without her consent.
The video also marks Swift’s solo directorial debut. She shares co-directing credit on three other videos.
“There’s a song that I had wanted to write conceptually for a very long time, because over the course of my life it has occurred to me that we have a bit of a double-standard issue in our society,” Swift explained before performing the track at the Tiny Desk last year.
But she’s not targeting work-a-day man, she’s going after moguls and would-be moguls and the sycophants who suck up to them.
From drinking shots from a stripper’s belly to a yacht scene right out of “Wolf of Wall Street,” Swift takes a shot at everything that represents a chauvinist’s wet dream.
Swift also gets the last word.
In the final scene, she’s in the director’s chair giving the “man” a piece of condescending direction that she assume’s countless women have heard.
“Could you try to be sexier? Maybe more likable this time?” she asks.
Extra cool feature and reason to watch until the end. The video shows her makeup transformation to the “man.”
Check out the video and lyrics below.
| Check out the lyrics to her new song: |
|---|
| I would be complex I would be cool They’d say I played the field before I found someone to commit to And that would be ok For me to do Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you I’d be a fearless leader I’d be an alpha type When everyone believes ya What’s that like? I’m so sick of running as fast I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker If I was a man And I’m so sick of them coming at me again ‘Cause if I was a man… Then I’d be the man I’d be the man I’d be the man They’d say I hustled Put in the work They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve What I was wearing If I was rude Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves And they would toast to me, oh Let the players play I’d be just like Leo In Saint-Tropez (Chorus: What’s it like to brag about) Raking in dollars And getting bitches and models And it’s all good if you’re bad And it’s okay if you’re mad If I was out flashing my dollars I’d be a bitch, not a baller They paint me out to be bad So it’s okay that I’m mad I’m so sick of running as fast I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker If I was a man I’m so sick of them coming at me again ‘Cause if I was a man… Then I’d be the man I’d be the man I’m so sick of running as fast I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker If I was a man And I’m so sick of them coming at me again ‘Cause if I was a man… Then I’d be the man I’d be the man I’d be the man I’d be the man I’d be the man I’d be the man If I was a man I’d be the man |