The Man's Too Strong

I believe this song speaks to the dangers of giving one person too much power and the fact that most people that seek power are precisely the worst people that should be given power. Their supporters will be forced to go along with them if they are unrestrained, regardless of their own personal convictions and will only be able to offer the old excuse of “just following orders” in the end.

The first stanza sets up the story of the narrator, perhaps it is his war crimes trial. He is aging and fading away, so he is old or has been sentenced to death or prison. He admits he is a war criminal and “called a tune to many a torture sessions”. He either helped torture or probably pointed the finger at others (called a tune) which is what many good people do when under a regime of terror, it forces a “better him than me” attitude where neighbors turn in neighbors and children turn in parents. This is the point of the lines “the man's too big, the man's too strong” used throughout the song. In a regime like that everybody turns on one another and does things they would never normally do, but don't feel they have a choice or they will be imprisoned or killed. But the narrator seems sorry, which is why he is confessing.

The first line about a drummer boy can mean two things. He started all this with the naiveté of a child, the young boy wanting to be with the soldiers as a drummer via mob mentality and propaganda (think Hitler Youth or a real drummer boy on the battlefield). Or more metaphorically, beating the drums of war or of a political movement. Maybe he was instrumental to the movement getting the dictator in power thinking he was doing a good thing and that the dictator was going to be a great visionary leader. (the road to hell is paved with good intentions).

The 2nd stanza starts listing more bad things he did, presumably as he rose in power with the dictator. He shows how the party took control of the minds of the people by changing history & burning competing ideas while stealing everything that wasn't nailed down. The lines about still hearing his laughter and song I believe is speaking to whatever the message was or the charisma and connection to the people that the dictator seemed to have that appealed to people. The lines about the man being too big and too strong are used as an excuse. I did these bad things, not because I wanted to but because I had no choice (just following orders) the man was too big or too strong for any of us to restrain or disagree with.

The 3rd stanza is more in the narrator's defense that he could have been much worse, but given the conditions he was actually pretty mild. He spat like a woman and sulked like a child means that he couldn't stand up to the dictator like a man, he was powerless. Picture a reluctant Gestapo-like officer expected to round up 100 political prisoners a month and one month his men catch 1000 but he lets 900 go free. At his war crimes he will still be tried for the 100. “He hid behind walls”; he kept his true feelings for peace and against the dictator's policies hidden so he could use his position to help others.

The last stanza is where the dictator's sentence is being carried out (firing squad or gallows). Notice the change in pronouns, “we all did hear him say”, so it is not the narrator speaking but most likely the dictator and it shows what a sick individual he is. What I think he is saying (and others have pointed out) is that you (the narrator) turned on me during the trials (Judas) for which you got leniency (silver) and even though I'm about to die, I'm going to get the last laugh, I had sex with your sister and wife. Even after the dictator is dead, for the rest of his life, the narrator is going to have to visualize and deal with that. And this was most likely done when the narrator was supposed to be a friend and ally to the dictator and seemed to have helped him into power. That is what type of person he really is. He is pure evil and his evil is so big and strong not only has he quite possibly ruined a nation, but even after death he might ruin this man's marriage and family life. This song is a warning about giving one man too much power and about the psychology of those that seek power; they are the last people we should trust with power.