Listen to What the Man Said

...I dont think there needs to be anything said as the man got to it before us.

I think the man is Jesus. Because he told us that love is kind and tells us to listen to the man.

Either that or 'the man' is the boy all along and it represents how he see's the world differently now he is out of the army/war (he used to be negative, now he's positive)

McCartney is using the term The Man as was used commonly in the 60's/70's, as a collective term for authority, which acts and expresses itself sometimes in your best interest and sometimes oppressively ( it's also used in the military for superior officers ), so regardless of what the authorities have to say about a certain thing, even if it's about love, eventually "people will find a way to go" anyway.

I agree - I think the lyrics pretty much say what the song is about, although I'm not sure WHO 'the man' is.

I love the horns in this song - great blend. has anyone heard the DTS 5.1 version of this? Oh my - what a treat - the entire Venus and Mars album sounds great in 5.1.

interesting...I've also wondered whether "the man" might refer to Jesus. there's not much in the lyrics to support it, but I'm sure we're not the only ones to think of it...so there's probably something there.

the song (as a whole...not only the words) evokes the sheer joy of being alive, in a way few other songwriters could match.

i can understand how this sunny outlook can appear naive or even soft-headed: to those with a more pessimistic outlook, or who've been dealt a difficult hand in life.

consider for example Lennon's "How Can You Sleep?"--a scabrous rant against his former partner--which includes the (admittedly clever) line, "The only thing you did was yesterday." capitalize the "y", if you want. was Lennon less escapist...more aware? or merely bitter?

This is just a real cool song that describes a positive outlook on love.

About "the man" being Jesus. I had never thought of that but I think thats actually a pretty cool idea.

The man is the government (like 'Uncle Sam', 'the man' is another name) & the boy once he becomes a man. After the government made a 'boy' go to war, he came back and met a girl and became a man.

The negative things are what the government (man )said The positive things are what the grown up boy (man) said

I've heard a few say "The Man," is referencing the Maharishi. Each Beatle received a secret mantra from him. Therefore, Paul probably won't say who "The Man" is as that might reveal his secret mantra as "Love Is Fine For All We Know For All We Know, Our Love Will Grow." But its easy to see why this is something profoundly happy that applies beyond just Paul.

Don't know,but just sayin'.

Definitely the "man" is an enlightened being - be it Jesus, Buddha, Hafez... Stay on the path of Love - even during War. And his Love is deeper than being "blind" but rather, is "kind."\nWhen you sing of deeper truths, beauty like this spills out....