I am just an aging drummer boy
And in the wars I used to play
And I've called the tune to many a torture session
Now they say I am a war criminal
And I'm fading away
Father, please hear my confession

I have legalized robbery
Called it belief
I have run with the money
I have hid like a thief
Rewritten history with armies and my crooks
Invented memories
I did burn all the books
And I can still hear his laughter
And I can still hear his song
The man's too big
The man's too strong

Well, I've tried to be meek
I have tried to be mild
But I spat like a woman
And I sulked like a child
I have lived behind walls that have made me alone
Striven for peace
Which I never have known
And I can still hear his laughter
And I can still hear his song
The man's too big
The man's too strong

Well, the sun rose on the courtyard
And we all did hear him say
"You always was a Judas,
But I got you anyway.
You may have got your silver
But I swear upon my life
Your sister gave me diamonds
And I laid down with your wife."
Oh father, please help me
For I have done wrong
The man's too big
The man's too strong


Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by OtterSpotter, KoosG

The Man's Too Strong song meanings
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  • +2
    General Comment

    The main character is the dictator's former right hand man. He is declared a war criminal by the dictator and sentenced to hang. He may have turned on his former boss. He is granted access to a priest to whom he confesses everything he's done. He calls himself a drummer boy because he wasn't gripped with power. For most of his career he was trying to do the right thing through questionable means. And he got caught up in it until is conscience became heavy.

    God doesn't laugh at those He judges. The "man" is the dictator who caught his former supporter when he could no longer be part of his system. On hanging day, the rest the dictator's men call him Judas. The diamonds are really love or at least sex. So he gets in an obscene gesture towards the dictator before the sudden drop.

    lyonsgeekon September 18, 2008   Link

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