I like the arrangement of this song, even the Paul Simon-like “la-la-la’s”. Perhaps it’s a slight song in the Dylan catalog, but it’s a nice little thing. Tim Riley, in Hard Rain (and overlooked book, IMO), writes: “[the man in me] is so directly in its expression of the unflinching cues of intimacy, you forgive him the occasional forced rhyme.”
The song was likely inspired by “On the Street Where You Live”, a song from the 1956 musical My Fair Lady.
And oh, the towering feeling just to know somehow you are near
The overpowering feeling that any second you may suddenly appear
Many of the songs on New Morning are performed with Dylan on the keyboard. This one is written in the key of Ab major, another song written on the “black keys”, Dylan’s favorites.
The song was featured in the overrated movie, The Big Lebowski.
Dylan played it during his gospel phase. Not bad.
And a lot during the Neverending tour. Eh.
Lyrics
The man in me will do nearly any task
And as for compensation, there’s little he would ask
Take a woman like you
To get through to the man in me
Storm clouds are raging all around my door
I think to myself I might not take it anymore
Take a woman like your kind
To find the man in me
But, oh, what a wonderful feeling
Just to know that you are near
Sets my heart a-reeling
From my toes up to my ears
The man in me will hide sometimes to keep from bein’ seen
But that’s just because he doesn’t want to turn into some machine
Took a woman like you
To get through to the man in me