- published: 10 Apr 2007
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"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.
The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either passively, openly or via sabotage.
As a phrase meaning "the boss" it dates from at least 1918.
In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.
The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."
Walk me out by the water's edge
Oh, my brother
I'm coming down
We are you
We are almost there
And the man keeps coming 'round
I don't know who was right
Or what they saw in you that night
But here we are under moonlight
Words...cannot describe
Walk me out in the morning sun
Oh, sweet momma
I'm coming down
We are young
We are almost there
And the man keeps coming 'round
And I don't know who was right
Or what they saw in you that night
Here we are under moonlight
Words cannot describe
It's clear to me
You're like
The oceans and the light
Try and you'll remember what you used to be
It's clear to me this day will take you for a ride
A place that you once longed to be
And there it is...
I don't know who was right
Or what they saw in you that night
Here we are under the moonlight
Words...cannot describe
Walk me out
By the water's edge
Oh, my brother
I'm coming down
We were young
We are almost there
And the man keeps coming 'round