# Who exactly was "The man"???????? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 23, 2001, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577 "2001-02-23T08:14:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/1 "2001-02-23T08:14:37Z")
Okay, I know what some of you think of me anyway, so I’ll just go ahead and admit that I think Wings was **THE** greatest band of the 70’s, and one of the greatest bands **EVER**! However, I never could completely understand one of their best songs “Listen to what the Man said”. Just who the heck is “The Man”? Please, answer me that and let’s not discuss how Linda was a terrible musician and animal rights kook. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/2 "2001-02-23T08:26:55Z")
“The Man” was basic hippie speak for “the establishment,” i.e., the government and corporations. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/3 "2001-02-23T08:33:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*“The Man” was basic hippie speak for “the establishment,” i.e., the government and corporations. > \*\* Well, being a child of the 60’s I know that. But is that who P.M. was talking about? Was he saying “the government says our love will grow”? It just can’t be the same “Man”, can it? Why would the government want us to be in love? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/4 "2001-02-23T10:55:12Z")
Who’s the man? You da man! ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/5 "2001-02-23T11:31:07Z")
I Da Man? YOU da man!! Who do think you’re calling Da man, man? …man… ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/6 "2001-02-23T13:52:28Z")
I hear ya, **pk** - Wings was a great band, as is any solo Beatles stuff! But I digress. I don’t _know_ for sure, but I’ve got to agree with your skepticism of the “man” in this song being the government. I’m thinking it’s maybe a Jesus reference. I know that PM didn’t do the religion thing quite as much as John and George, but he WAS always one to take a shot at one-upping a theme covered by John (Penny Lane v. Strwaberry Fields, etc.) Hope a WAG is acceptable for now. I’ll do some poking around today and see if I can’t dig anything up straight from the “man” himself. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/7 "2001-02-23T14:00:25Z")
Stan Musial, of course. You know, this question is based on the potentially false assmption that it actually does represent a real person. There’s no reason it has to. “The man” might have been used solely because it fit the meter. ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/8 "2001-02-23T14:18:25Z")
All’s I know is: **To BE the Man, you gotta BEAT the Man** (shouting) **Who the Man!?** ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/9 "2001-02-23T19:56:50Z")
The man owned the garage where Chico worked and lived. Chico, don’t get discouraged the man, he ain’t so hard to understand. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/10 "2001-02-24T00:30:33Z")
Isn’t it obvious? - **man** hattan ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/11 "2001-02-24T00:36:43Z")
Here are some more definitions from Websters: often capitalized : POLICE _when I heard the siren, I knew it was the Man— Amer. Speech_ 8 often capitalized : the white establishment : white society _surprise that any blackT should take on so about The Man— Peter Goldman_ ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/12 "2001-02-24T01:00:14Z")
I see it as more of a reference to “Society”. Society says “our love will grow.” Just a good old platitude. After all, what are us old folks for, except to tell you young whippersnappers what it’s all about. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/13 "2001-02-24T01:01:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doctor Jackson \* > \*\*The man owned the garage where Chico worked and lived. > > Chico, don’t get discouraged > the man, he ain’t so hard to understand. \*\* That character was Ed Brown, played by Jack Albertson. The reruns of “Chico and the Man” don’t wear well on TVLand. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/14 "2001-02-24T02:10:39Z")
Rudyard Kipling said who the man is: If you can keep your head while others are losing theirs, you’ll be the man, my son … or similar words. ---
**Author:** ![MrPenbrook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MrPenbrook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrPenbrook)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-exactly-was-the-man/55577/15 "2001-02-24T06:44:01Z")
SHAFT!