"Your Woman" is a song by British one-man band White Town. It was released in January 1997 as the lead single from the album ''

Women in Technology Women in Technology may refer to: * Women in STEM fields, women who work in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics * ''Women in Technology'' (album), by White Town * Women in Technology International Women in Technology I ...

''. It features a muted

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

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taken from a 1932 recording of " My Woman" by

Lew Stone Louis Stone known professionally as Lew Stone (28 June 1898 – 13 February 1969) was a British bandleader and arranger of the British dance band era, and was well known in Britain during the 1930s. He was known as a skillful, innovative an ...

and his Monseigneur Band. The song peaked at 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Outside the United Kingdom, the single reached No. 1 in Iceland, Israel and Spain, peaked within the top 10 on the charts of at least 12 countries, and reached No. 23 in the United States. In the booklet of their 1999 album ''

69 Love Songs ''69 Love Songs'' is the sixth studio album by American indie pop band the Magnetic Fields, released on September 7, 1999 by Merge Records. As its title indicates, ''69 Love Songs'' is a three-volume concept album composed of 69 love songs, all w ...

'', The Magnetic Fields' frontman Stephin Merritt described "Your Woman" as one of his "favourite pop songs of the last few years." In 2010, the song was named the 158th best track of the 1990s by '' Pitchfork''.

Background and writing

Jyoti Prakash Mishra, White Town's sole member and the writer of "Your Woman", had garnered some notoriety within the United Kingdom's underground music scene in the years leading up to the song's mainstream release. In 1997, the song was heard by Mark Radcliffe (a

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

presenter at the time) who played it, helping Mishra gain much recognition in a short time. Mishra has stated that the lyrics could stem from or be related to multiple situations. He says "When I wrote it, I was trying to write a pop song that had more than one perspective. Although it's written in the first person, the character behind that viewpoint isn't necessarily what the casual listener would expect". Mishra wrote that the themes of the song include: "Being a member of an orthodox

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

movement. Being a straight guy in love with a lesbian. Being a gay guy in love with a straight man. Being a straight girl in love with a lying, two-timing, fake-arse Marxist. The hypocrisy that results when love and lust get mixed up with highbrow ideals." Mishra admitted that being signed to a major label (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) did not allow him to express creative control, and the loss of his anonymity due to the song's popularity drove him "mad". The '>Abort, Retry, Fail?_' message that appeared on some inlay cards was explained by the artist: "Well, this cheerful message became a kind of

shibboleth A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwor ...

for me and sort-of characterizes what's been going on for me the last few years." The song was created using free MIDI sequencing software for the

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

and a cheap multitrack

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

recorder.

Composition

J'na Jefferson of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' summarized the song's production as a juxtaposition of the sampled track's (" My Woman" by

), "despondent sound with upbeat, enduring energy", which Mishra said was inspired by the 1970s

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

drama-comedy series '' Pennies From Heaven''. He labeled it " alt-pop", adding that it combines the Bowlly sample with " George Clinton-style

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

from the '70s,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

-inspired '80s

electro pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

, and '90s boom-bap hip-hop." The song's lyrics contain various perspectives about love and relationships, and is, according to Mishra, a "flip" of Lew Stone vocalist Al Bowlly's original "anti-woman" theme. Regarding the song's concept and the perspective of which it is sang from, Mishra said "When you love somebody, it's not logical, it's not rational, and you think, 'This is ridiculous, I can never be with you, I can never be the person you need, why am I even feeling these feelings?' So, I was trying to write from all these different sides… I wanted people to go, 'this is catchy,' and sing it, but then be like, 'What the hell?' at the same time".

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' wrote that "the lines dividing electronic dance music and hip-hop are blurred on this instantly infectious ditty, actually, the real creative inspiration here appears to come from "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

" and other classic hits by

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology ''Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictiona ...

. It's evident in the jangly guitar licks and the bounce of the backbeat." He added that "those with no historical reference will probably find the distorted vocals and mind-numbing horn samples good fun." Stuart Millar from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the song as "a blend of

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

, with an introduction from a trumpet piece taken from a

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record." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. The reviewer noted that it has already won Radio One support "and it's easy to see why. With a vocal reverberating somewhere between The Buggles and Stephen Duffy, this instantly catchy pop synth dance track is simplicity at its irresistible best." Dave Fawbert from ''

ShortList A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

'' said, "It’s one of those classic, not-quite-sure-why-it-works-but-it-definitely-does tunes, so lo-fi that the song was actually on an Atari ST." Gina Morris from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' commented that "what's cool is that he recorded his debut single in his own room and then watched it go to number one."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Your Woman" was produced in black and white

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

style. Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. In the video, there are numerous elements of acting, cinematography and editing that suggest an old fashioned film style. The exaggerated gestures of Chloé Treend, the hat wearing woman, helpless and fearful, and those of her quick tempered lover hint at the acting style from 1920s expressionist films. The ostensive

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

s, such as the use of hypnosis on the woman by the man or the recurring shots of crossroad signs bearing names of romantic relationship related attitudes, remind of the 1920s and 1930s efforts to express subjectivism in film. The use of circular masks, as to emphasise focal points or for a mere elegant look, also belongs to the aforementioned period. At the point where the woman first enters the man's bedroom and in the final rope scene, match cuts are used in a manner resemblant of that from silent experimental films. Mishra can be seen for brief moments on television screens in the background. There is also a scene where the woman closes the door on the man's arm, as she tries to escape from his advances. This is a direct reference to scene from

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

and Luis Buñuel's surrealist film (1928).

Influence and legacy

In the booklet of their 1999 album ''

'', The Magnetic Fields' frontman Stephin Merritt described "Your Woman" as one of his "favourite pop songs of the last few years." '' Pitchfork'' named it the 158th best track of the 1990s in 2010. ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' listed it at No. 72 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011, writing, "A

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

whose other material totally justifies that status, White Town stumbled into a moment of sheer brilliance on "Your Woman", a single that married a fucked-up horn sample to a

rhythm section straight out of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's playbook. The sheer catchiness of the song's arrangement got some adventurous radio programmers on board, but it was the say-what-now gender politics of the song's lyrics that proved to be most compelling. Hearing Jyoti Mishra's plaintive

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

croon, "I guess what they say is true/I could never be the right kind of girl for you/I could never be your woman", remains one of the most subversive moments in '90s pop."

Track listings

* UK and Australian CD single # "Your Woman" – 4:18 # "Give Me Some Pain" – 4:23 # "Theme for a Mid-Afternoon Game Show" – 2:48 # "Theme for a Late-Night Documentary About the Dangers of Drug Abuse" – 6:08 * UK cassette single and European CD single # "Your Woman" – 4:18 # "Give Me Some Pain" – 4:23 * Italian 12-inch single :A1. "Your Woman" (The Fights 2000 mix) :B1. "Your Woman" :B2. "Give Me Some Pain" * US CD and cassette single # "Your Woman" – 4:18 # "Theme for a Late-Night Documentary About the Dangers of Drug Abuse" – 6:08

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Tyler James version

British singer songwriter

Tyler James Tyler James may refer to: * Tyler James (American musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * Tyler James (English musician) (born 1985), English singer-songwriter See also * James Tyler (disambiguation) *Tyler James Williams Tyler Ja ...

released a cover of the song. It was released as the third and final single from his debut studio album, ''

The Unlikely Lad ''The Unlikely Lad'' is the debut album from English singer Tyler James. It was released on 29 August 2005 as a digital download only and subsequently failed to chart. The album spawned three singles: " Why Do I Do?", " Foolish" and "Your Woman". ...

'' (2005). It was released as a digital download in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 22 August 2005. The song peaked at No. 60 on the

Track listings

Charts

Release history

Princess Chelsea version

New Zealand musician Princess Chelsea released a cover of the song in 2009. It was released as her debut, non-album single through digital download.

Other covers

* Finnish band Cats on Fire covered the song in 2010, on their album ''Dealing in Antiques''. * Australian singer songwriter Darren Hayes performed an acoustic version of the song, in a

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

live session with Jo Whiley in November 2011. * Australian indie rock band

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

performed a version live on radio station Triple J's weekly segment ''

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...

'' in October 2013. * French electronic act GYM released a cover in 2014. * German electronic duo Kush Kush sampled the song in "Fight Back With Love Tonight" in 2017, which peaked at No. 1 on the Russian music charts on 23 October 2017. * White Town released a new version of the song on its twentieth anniversary named "Your Woman 1917", which is recorded with instruments common in 1917. * Canadian freak pop band

Fake Shark Fake Shark (formerly known as Fake Shark – Real Zombie!) is a Canadian electronic indie-pop band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Formed in 2005, their early musical style mainly combined elements of dance punk and IDM but have since shifted ...

released a version in November 2020. * Australian darkwave/electrocore artist DAMIEN released a version on his debut album ''Girl'' in 2021.

Sampling

* Polish hip hop duo Peel Motyff sampled the song in "Nie jest tak źle" in 2001, on their album ''Sieć''. * Naughty Boy, featuring Wiley and Emeli Sandé, sampled the song in " Never Be Your Woman" in 2010.

References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles 2005 singles Bing Crosby Black-and-white music videos Chrysalis Records singles EMI Records singles LGBT-related songs Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Spain Songs about infidelity Tyler James (English musician) songs Works about Marxism UK Singles Chart number-one singles White Town songs