A Man is Not His Song

Album: Pleasure (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Feist sings about a writer's blurred lines: "I have seen people take on the characteristics or the persona that they invented to tell their stories," she told The Globe. "I don't have a final verdict on that. I've watched myself as well. It's not a natural thing to be talking about yourself. So, this song is a study of the relationship between real people writing things beyond them."
  • Feist tags the up-to-this-point quiet track with an unexpected metal outro - a snippet of Mastodon's very loud Once More Round The Sun track "High Road." She explained why to Pitchfork:

    "I wanted a sonic representation of the feminine/masculine binary, and Mastodon is like a flamethrower of guy-sound and feeling. It felt right at the end of this observation that a man is not his song, and nothing is really what it purports to be. I know a lot of men, and a lot of them write songs, and I know the difference between what they are and what they sing. And it's same for me—there is your pedestrian voice and your maker's voice, and it just felt notable to observe that some people can be subsumed by the voice they've made, and others keep it in check.

    I have a funny perspective in that a lot of my friends created alter egos inside which to make what they make, and I didn't. It was because I didn't ever feel entitled to really play-act. I barely felt entitled to take up the space I took up in the world. When I was young I was pretty shy. I really thrived as an underdog."

Comments: 1

  • Ainz from KenyaI love Feist
    Is there any chance of another album?
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.