"Manchild" is a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry, released as the second single from her debut album, Raw Like Sushi. The single was a top-10 success in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and several European countries. "Manchild" did not chart in the United States or Canada. It was the first song Neneh sat down and wrote. She composed the song on a Casio keyboard (the same one she uses to this day), using an auto-chord setting and ended up with 7 chords in the verse alone. Neneh's stepfather Don Cherry commented on this praisingly, comparing it to a jazz song structure. Nellee Hooper did the beat for the song and wrote the rap with Robert Del Naja. Neneh then gave it to Cameron McVey, who helped to shape the song with the parts and "made it make sense".[2]
"Manchild" | ||||
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Single by Neneh Cherry | ||||
from the album Raw Like Sushi | ||||
Released | 8 May 1989 (1989-05-08)[1] | |||
Studio | Abbey Road, Blackwing, Eastcote, Hot Nights, Sam Therapy (London, England) | |||
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Label | Virgin | |||
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Neneh Cherry singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Manchild" on YouTube | ||||
The song's lyrics are "directed at a full-grown man who has a little more growing up to do".[3] Neneh expressed the significance of the song for herself, stating it's where she found her sound: "I think "Manchild" was the song where I kind of found my style. I think that song, the style of the song, the spirit and the feeling of the song has reappeared; it always reappears along the way in other songs that I've written; therefore it became the most significant song that I ever wrote, in a way".[2]
Angus Taylor for BBC noted in his review of Raw Like Sushi, that "the offbeat, ambient ballad Manchild showcases Cherry's maternal side".[4] The Los Angeles Times wrote about the song and its music video, "Nothing less than one of the most visually arresting video clips ever produced, illustrating one of 1989's truly great singles, an accusatory yet compassionate balladic broadside."[3] Music & Media described "Manchild" as "slower and more melodic" than "Buffalo Stance". They added it as "a strong and highly commercial follow-up with a warm production."[5] The music video was nominated for "Best Video" at the 1990 Brit Awards. Lesley Chow from The Quietus wrote,
The title character is a guy with a run-down car, a cheating girlfriend and no willpower, so it's not surprising that we get a hypnotic sense of draining away. The strings have a repetitive, droning sound; they move gradually up or down a tone, so that the entire song seems to be slipping down a slope. A program of beats forms a continually revolving and reversing pattern, and the track feels as if it's shuffling or rotating by degrees (the video ingeniously matched this idea of constant slippage by showing Cherry surrounded by tilting levels of water). However, what's elating is the way that the song repeatedly threatens to lose its motor – and then regains it, by a whisker. All that downward movement should lead to a dead end, but just before momentum runs out, the vocal lifts to even out and stabilize the track. The lyrics are self-reflexive; the phrase "Turn around, ask yourself" is used as a pivot, a chance for the song to do a 180-degree turn.[6]
The video clip was produced by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. It shows Cherry on a virtual beach, while several other people can be seen in the background. Cherry's daughters, Naima and Tyson, and her step-son, Marlon Roudette, also appear in the video. The camera "slowly rocks back and forth" in line with the beat of the song.[3]
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Year-end charts
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In April 2022, Australian singer Sia released a version as the lead single from Cherry's album The Versions, released in June of the same year.[29]
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