Lineage Songs: “You Oughta Know” Alanis Morrisette (1995) —> “Before He Cheats” Carrie Underwood (2005) —> “If I Were a Boy” Beyonce (2008) —> “Cause I’m a Man” Tame Impala (2015)
The reason that I chose these three songs to represent a lineage that eventually lead to Cause I’m a Man, is because they are all critiques of men that mirror or enhance Kevin Parker’s argument. However, these songs were all written by women, which I feel juxtaposes Cause I’m a Man in a way that emphasizes the rarity that men will outwardly admit they are not oblivious to the damage they tend to cause in relationships. Specifically, You Oughta Know, by Alanis Morrisette is an angrily written song that berates a man she was in a relationship with (speculatively Dave Coulier) for blindsiding her and leaving her for another woman. The lyrics condescendingly suggest that although Morrisette knows the man in question was aware of how badly he betrayed her, she still feels the need to remind him of the severity due to his own selfishness and narcissism. The notion of men “playing dumb” and giving empty excuses only to move on to another woman seemingly unscathed, directly can be correlated to Kevin Parker’s admission to being unsure whether he cares more for his own ego than his partner’s feelings. I feel the following lyrics from both songs can almost act as a response to each other, in the sense that Cause I’m a Man could serve as a probable response to You Oughta Know.
You Oughta Know:
And I’m here, to remind you
Of the mess you left when you went away It’s not fair, to deny me Of the cross I bear that you gave to me You, you, you oughta know
Leave a Reply