I'm Your Man

really good song

You've know them since age ten What men can do What they did for themselves I'll do for you

he, funny lines ;)

This song always makes me think of male prostitution. With lines like "What men can do / what they do for themselves / I'll do for you," I definitely feel Hell's talking about men who pleasure themselves using a woman (or man) and he will now proceed to "give back to" this "sex object," in a sense.

"If I seem unromantic / You're glad that I do / What you say to me proves / I'm more romantic than you." Many times, prostitutes and their clients try to detach themselves from the romantic aspects of sex, some prostitutes even refusing to kiss, as many consider it the most intimate sexual act. I think Hell's talking about how it's his job to have sex, making it an unromantic, automatic act, and his client simply wants to get off and doesn't have the passion and emotion Hell believes he himself poses.

If I remember correctly, I think I've read somewhere that Hell was a male prostitute at one point. It would make sense; lots of New York punk junkies were back in the 70s.

It sounds to me like the singer/narrator is supposed to be a woman, trying to convince her male lover that she's as good as a man. It's as if he'd prefer to be with a man, and she's either an energetic substitute (presumably a prostitute), or perhaps just an eager girl trying to nudge a guy in a new (bisexual) direction with some friendly coaxing. Either way, she feels the need to keep reminding him to forget she's a woman just now, saying, over and over again, "I'm your man, baby, oh yeah, yes I am, I'm your man"... This kinda explains the constant references to getting it by hand, which is pretty much as androgynous as sex can get. Is there such a difference between the hand of a woman or man that it really matters?

Whichever the case, I think the song is an oddly romantic, albeit ultra quirky and kinky, little number... It's beautifully constructed and passionately performed--simple and elegant--a real treasure from the early CBGB punk scene.

this song is not good as blank generation but sounds really good.i love it!

Everyone seems to be applying their personal lgbtq+-? politics onto this song but my interpretation is that its a streetwise love song to any lover who's had a rough go of things and lived hard ... a reassurance of sorts. An alternate interpretation would be that he's writing from the perspective of a drug dealer, as that dynamic equally lines up with the lyrical content. As with all great songs, the meaning of this song can easily shift depending on the listener. Without a doubt its one of the best of Hell's discography.