https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft-1OZafqe4
Videos by Wide Open Country
If there's an aspirational model for modern country radio, it's the 1992 country charts. It was a year that saw Wynonna topping the charts for multiple weeks with the searing "I Saw the Light" and the swaggering "No One Else on Earth" and Reba earning a No. 1 with the feminist parable "Is There Life Out There." The stage was perfectly set for Canadian country singer Michelle Wright's bold call for respect, "Take it Like a Man."
Written by Tony Haselden, the song follows a woman fed up with men who only want one night stands or refuse to see her as a person worthy of love and respect. Or, as Wright sings, "One wants a maid, one needs his mother/ they either want space or they wanna smother me."
"Take it Like a Man" bucks the outdated, stereotypical ideas of masculinity. Instead, it celebrates men who represent honesty, respect, kindness and dependability. At its core, it's a song about a woman who knows what she deserves and not settling for anything less.
The song cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard country charts in the summer of 1992. Its accompanying music video, directed by Steven Goldmann, featured men from all walks of life interspersed with clips of Wright.
Read More: 90s Country Duets You Forgot You Loved
Already established in her native Canada, "Take it Like a Man" helped launch Wright's career in the U.S. In 1993, Wright won the Academy of Country Music award for Top New Female Vocalist.
In 2011, Wright was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
'Take it Like a Man' Lyrics:
Boy meets girl it's a delicate thing
So much time spent wondering
If what you see is what you get
I keep looking for a friend and a lover
When I find one he ain't the other
Sometimes, I just want to quit
One wants a maid one needs his mother
They either want space or they want to smother me
And my poor heart needs somebody who
Can take it like a man, steady and strong
Not a lot of fuss and carrying on
True to a promise I can write in stone
Take it like a man who knows about love
And every little thing that a girl dreams of
Someone wise enough to understand
If you want this woman's heart
Take it like a man
I met somebody the other night
Started thinking he was Mr. Right...wrong
I might have never known
If a friend hadn't brought it to my attention
He's got a wife he forgot to mention
Girl, leave that fool alone
I keep hoping and telling myself
Somewhere there's one good one left
'Cause my poor heart need somebody who
Can take it like a man, steady and strong
Not a lot of fuss and carrying on
True to a promise I can write in stone
Take it like a man who knows about love
And every little things that a girl dreams of
Someone wise enough to understand
If you want this woman's heart
Take it like a man
Take it like a man, steady and strong
Not a lot of fuss and carrying on
True to a promise I can write in stone
Take it like a man who knows about love
And every little things that a girl dreams of
Someone wise enough to understand
If you want this woman's heart
Take it like a man
Take it like a man
Well honey if you want my heart
You gotta take it like a man
Take it like a man
