The musical project White Town, whose creator and sole member is British-Indian Jyoti Prakash Mishra, is a typical “one-hit wonder”, as bands known for one song are called in English.
The only hit of this artist was the composition Your Woman , with which in 1997 he achieved incredible success in the charts.
The story of the creation of the song Your Woman
It all started when Jyoti heard Al Bowlly’s Bing Crosby song My Woman on the Pennies from Heaven soundtrack. Taking it as a basis, he composed Your Woman and recorded it right in his apartment. At the time, Mishra was moonlighting as a DJ in Derby clubs. He began to put the track in discos, and it turned out that the visitors were delighted with him.
They say that the author did not believe in the success of his own creation and was not going to promote it. But the girl Jyoti was more far-sighted and persistently urged him to send the song to the radio. In general, she convinced her indecisive boyfriend to make several copies of the disc (he only had enough money for five copies) and send them to famous stations.
The composition was liked by DJ Simon Mayo, who worked at Radio One. He began to put it on the air, and Your Woman became the most popular track among listeners. Jyoti then received a call from EMI with an offer to release the song as a single. Naturally, the stunned guy agreed, and in January 1997, a disc with his song appeared on the shelves of music stores.
Within the first week, Your Woman sold 165,000 copies. She topped the UK Singles Chart and rose to the top of the charts in many other countries.
What is the song Your Woman about?
Answering questions from fans on the official website of White Town, the creator of the project tried to explain the meaning of the song Your Woman, admitting that this is not an easy task:
Mmmm… Well, it’s not easy here. When I wrote it, I tried to write a pop song that could be viewed from several perspectives. Although it is written in the first person, the character expressing this point of view is not necessarily what the unwitting listener would expect to see. I read a lot of Wilhelm Reich and Andrea Dworkin, and both of them influenced the text in various ways. Yes, I’m crazy.
So, here are a few options for explaining what it is about:
- About being a member of a traditional Trotskyist/Marxist movement (which I myself was for about three years in the eighties).
- About being an ordinary guy in love with a lesbian (same thing).
- About what it’s like to be gay in love with an ordinary man (I haven’t tried this yet).
- About what it’s like to be an ordinary girl in love with a deceitful, cheating, completely fake Marxist.
- About hypocrisy, which becomes a consequence of the fact that love and lust are mixed with high ideals.
WhiteTown.co.uk
Video Your Woman – White Town
A stylish black-and-white video in the spirit of silent films of the twenties was filmed for the song Your Woman. Movie fans found in it references to various famous films by cult directors.
Cover versions
One of the musicians who performed Your Woman was Tyler James. Watch the video clip.
An excellent version of Your Woman was presented by Darren Hayes.
Interesting Facts
- The comedy melodrama I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) was named after this song, which became the main theme of the film’s soundtrack.
Your Woman Lyrics by White Town
Just tell me what you’ve got to say to me
I’ve been waiting for so long to hear the truth
It comes as no surprise at all you see
So cut the crap and tell me that we’re through
Now I know your heart, I know your mind
You don’t even know you’re bein’ unkind
So much for all your highbrow Marxist ways
Just use me up and then you walk away
Boy, you can’t play me that way
chorus:
Well I guess what you say is true
I could never be the right kind of girl for you
I could never be your woman x4
When I saw my best friend yesterday
She said she never liked you from the start
Well me, I wish that I could claim the same
But you always knew you held my heart
And you’re such a charming, handsome man
Now I think I finally understand
Is it in your genes
I don’t know
But I’ll soon find out, that’s for sure
Why did you play me this way
Well I guess what you say is true
I could never be the right kind of girl for you
Well I guess what they say is true
I could never spend my life with a man like you
Your Woman Lyrics Alternate
Just tell me what you should
I’ve waited so long to know the truth
You see, I’m not surprised at all
So stop this shit and tell me it’s over between us
I know what you’re thinking and what you’re getting at
You don’t even realize how cruel you are right now
It’s so much like your sublime marxist stuff
Just used me and left me
Boy, you can’t do that with me
Chorus:
Well I think you’re right
I’ve never been right for you
I have never been your woman – 4 times
Yesterday I met my best friend
She said she didn’t like you from the start
Well, I would like to state the same
But you always knew that my heart was yours
And you’re such a charming, handsome man
Now I think I finally understand
Is it in your genes
I dont know,
But soon I’ll find out for sure
Why did you do this to me
Well I think you’re right
I’ve never been right for you
Well, I think they’re all right
I could never spend my life with a man like you
Song quote
The lyrics of the song are very obscene and, to some extent, misogynistic. I thought it would be an interesting twist to sample this weird part and write a song based on it that would have multiple projections. The music was ready pretty quickly – but the words took a hell of an eternity!
Mishra
