Hard To Be A Man Song

1978 unmarried by Boston

“A Man I’ll Never Exist”
Unmarried by Boston
from the album Don’t Look Back
B-side	“Don’t Be Afraid”
Released	Nov 1978
Recorded	1977–1978
Genre	Rock
Length	6:xl
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Tom Scholz
Producer(due south)	Tom Scholz
Boston singles chronology
“Don’t Look Back” (1978) “A Human being I’ll Never Be” (1978) “Feelin’ Satisfied” (1979)
Music video
“A Man I’ll Never Be (Radio edit)” on YouTube

“A Human being I’ll Never Be”
is a song written past Tom Scholz and start released on Boston’s 1978 anthology
Don’t Look Back. It was besides released as a single and reached No. 31 on the
Billboard
Hot 100, spending five weeks on the chart.^[1]
[2]
It likewise reached No. 27 in Canada.^[3]

Writing and recording

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According to Scholz, the lyrics for “A Homo I’ll Never Exist” came to him quickly after he completed the music.^[4]
Brad Delp sang the pb and backing vocals and Scholz played lead and rhythm guitar, organ and pianoforte.^[5]
[6]
[7]
The just other musician on the recording was drummer Sib Hashian^[6]
[vii]
The vocal was mostly recorded at Scholz’southward Hideaway Studio, although the piano part was recorded by engineer Dave Butler at Northern Studio in Maynard, Massachusetts,^[8]
allegedly considering Hideaway was also small to fit the piano.^{[five]
[9]
[10]}

Lyrics and music

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“A Man I’ll Never Be” is a modify of step from the songs on Boston’s debut album and some of the other songs on
Don’t Look Back. AllMusic critic Tim Sendra claimed that the song reveals “a reflective side that was nowhere to be constitute on
Boston“.^[11]
[12]
Paul Grein of
Billboard
commented on the song’s “religious feel”, describing it every bit “the softest cut on the album” and noting that “it may well be a strong single.”^[13]
Grein also commented on the song’s “moody organ solo” and “ponderous carol sound”.^[13]
Pete Prown and Harvey P. Newquist described Scholz’southward guitar solo as long and dramatic.^[14]
Ultimate Classic Rock
critic Michael Gallucci described the song as “an introspective ballad”, unlike the band’due south typical fabric.^[15]
Rolling Stone
critic Ken Emerson compared “A Man I’ll Never Be” to Led Zeppelin’southward lengthy classic song “Stairway to Heaven”.^[5]
[16]
On Boston’s official site, David Wild described the song as “a slowburning power ballad reflecting real grown-up concerns and lived-in reality”.^[5]
Craig Rosen of
Billboard
also described the song equally a ability carol.^[9]

Greil Marcus, writing in
New Westward
magazine, described the song’s subject equally “how hard it is to live upward to a daughter’due south image of a male child”.^[17]
Marcus cited the bravery of the lyrics, in which the singer acknowledges his inadequacy, and described the theme of the song equally “the wimp redeemed”.^[17]
[xviii]
He farther explained that the vocaliser sounds “petty” and “insufferable” at beginning, but as the guitars in the background build, he achieves a measure of celebrity in his suffering with the lines “Yous expect up at me/And somewhere in your mind you encounter/A man I’ll never be”.^{[17]
[eighteen]}
Marcus concluded that although the singer never achieves the peace of heed he is seeking, “he is allowed a sense of self, of justification, and i comes away convinced that existence, no matter how miserable, is non meaningless”.^[17]
[xviii]

Emerson similarly saw the theme of the song to exist apprehension “with failing to be a human being.”^[xix]
He noted that the lyrics sometimes contradict the lyrics of other songs on
Don’t Look Dorsum. For example, a line in the title track says “I’m much too potent not to compromise”, simply i from “A Man I’ll Never Be” says “I tin can’t go any stronger”.^[xix]
“A Homo I’ll Never Be” likewise has a line stating that “Emotions can’t be satisfied”, which contradicts the title of its follow-up single, “Feelin’ Satisfied”.^[19]
Emerson concluded that the song “both distills and expands upon this knot of despair, which contrasts with the architectural magnificence of the song’s musical accomplishments”.^[xix]

Release

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“A Man I’ll Never Be” was released in late 1978 equally the follow-upwardly single to “Don’t Expect Dorsum,” which had reached No. 4 on the
Billboard
Hot 100. The single did not perform likewise as its predecessor, peaking at No. 31 in January 1979.^[20]
It performed slightly improve in Canada, peaking at No. 27.^[3]

“A Human being I’ll Never Exist” was afterward included on Boston’s
Greatest Hits
(1997).^[21]

Reception

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Marcus rated the song equally one of 3 masterpieces on
Don’t Look Dorsum, along with the title rails and “Used to Bad News”.^[17]
[xviii]
Billboard
similarly rated the song as one of the all-time cuts on
Don’t Look Back.^[22]
Billboard
called it “a slick ballad with searing guitars and Brad Delp’due south fluid lead song highlighting.”^[23]
Greenbacks Box
said that it begins “with a piano ballad experience which chop-chop expands when Tom Scholz adds his princely guitar work” and said that the keyboards “audio similar a church harpiscord” and the “vocals are characteristically soaring.”^[24]
Gallucci and Craig each rated it as Boston’s 10th greatest song.^[15]
[25]
Classic Rock
critic Paul Elliott rated it as Boston’s 9th greatest song.^[26]
According to Elliot, the vocal is a favorite of Def Leppard bass guitarist Rick Savage.^[27]
Elliott described information technology equally a “an existentialist power ballad of awe-inspiring proportions.”^[28]
Los Angeles Times
critic Jon Matsumoto called the song “a grandiose guilty pleasure”.^[29]
On the other hand, Milo Miles of
Boston Phoenix
called it a long stretch “of immaculate self-corruption”.^[30]

Live performances

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Boston played “A Human I’ll Never Be” live on the bout supporting their first album in 1977 before recording it for
Don’t Expect Back.^{[31]
[32]
[33]}
Delp played the keyboards for these performances.^[34]
Ottawa Journal
critic Mike Volsin stated that the song’southward slow melody showed that Boston “tin settle into the slower mood without any difficulty”.^[34]
Referring to a live operation of the song prior to its release, Peter Robb stated that Delp’s voice “stood out like a shining lite”.^[35]

Cover versions

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Extreme covered the song live in a tribute concert for Brad Delp.^[36]
After Delp’s death, Tommy DeCarlo used the tune to record a song “A Man I’ll Always Be” every bit a tribute to Delp.^[37]
[38]
That recording and several Boston covers he recorded separately led to his getting the chore as Boston’south new atomic number 82 singer.^[37]
[38]

References

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