Spektor, Regina - My Man Lyrics






It cost me a lot but there's one thing that I've got it's my man
Cold and wet, tired, you bet but all that I'll soon forget with my man

He's not much on looks and no hero out of books it's my man
Two or three girls has he that he likes as well as me but I love him

I don't know why I should
He isn't good, he isn't true
He beats me, too, what can I do?

Oh, my man, I love him so
He'll never know, all my life is just despair
But I don't care, when he takes me in his arms
The world is bright, all right

What's the difference if I say I'll go away
When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is, I'm his forever more

What's the difference if I say I'll go away
When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
For whatever my man is, I'm his forever more





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Spektor, Regina My Man Comments
  1. K.... W....

    there is another version of my man by regina with a more "regina" twist, i don't know which one i like more.

  2. M.... M....

    Stockholm Syndrome: The Song :D

  3. M.... M....

    Reminds me of the song by The Ronettes, “He Hit Me (But It Felt Like a Kiss)”.

  4. B.... A....

    She did this really sick demo/acapella of this song and i loved it so much. I had it downloaded. I hope i can find it again. It was so raw and magical

  5. c.... c....

    Meahhh. Rocky likes this version Sistah! You keep it up seee.

  6. l.... ....

    Loved this series and love her !! <3

  7. A.... J....

    Horrible version. Aileen Stanley dd a much much better version in the 1920s. I can’t hear this. It’s gves me very bad feelings

  8. D.... *....

    So miss Boardwalk Empire

  9. D.... *....

    Original is by Edith Piaf first before Fan. B, and Billie Holiday (her version is fantastic) however Regina has such chemistry with this classic

    D.... *....

    By Piaf? Never heard that one, do you have a link?

    D.... *....

    C'est beaucoup plus ancien ! Minstinguett, 1938 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFvYjlgqh4Q

    D.... *....

    Ce n'est pas Piaf qui chante mais bien Mistinguett

    D.... *....

    Thank you!!

  10. M.... O....

    Classy as hell

  11. R.... M....

    This isn't HER song guys. But she did it very well

  12. t.... ....

    Ilove this.

  13. S.... E....

    What ever happened to the tuba providing excellent beat and rhythm? Did it become obsolete like the road runners anvil?

  14. d.... ....

    Does anybody know where or if there is a karaoke/instrumental version of this song?

  15. S.... E....

    Check out Regina Spektor in the group  *_Leftover Cuties_*

  16. G.... F....

    Definitely the best cover of this song

  17. E.... B....

    I worship this woman, she can do no wrong, I never could never tire of hearing that voice...

  18. A.... B....

    This seems like the anthem to every female trapped in an abusive relationship ever.

  19. a.... ....

    how great her voice goes with the orch...

  20. M.... ....

    I'll never gte tired of this....Te amo regina

  21. H.... D....

    This version is lovely but Billies is real, heartfelt and straight from the gut, however for light entertaining musicality this woman is ace, love it........

  22. K.... J....

    It's still not as good as Barbra Streisand version!

    K.... J....

    it's better...

    K.... J....

    When you say this version is better, are you comparing it with Barbra's movie version or her radio version? Because if you watch all of Funny Girl leading up to Barbra's performance of this song, there's simply no other version that hits the exact emotional resonance that was needed in that moment of the story. If you're comparing Barbra's radio version with this recording without context, I think preferences really just come down to which arrangement you like better. Regina is basing hers on the original French version- look up Mistinguett- Mon Homme, the orchestration is basically the same. Barbra bases her interpretation and arrangement on Fanny Brice, who made the song popular in America. I'm really not a fan of the whole oom-pah thing going in this version, so I prefer Streisand's freer version. But I can respect the choice to go with an arrangement that's closer to the original.

  23. G.... H....

    Christ, she is exquisite!

    G.... H....

    well said.

  24. D.... ....

    It cost me a lot but there's one thing that I've got it's my man
    Cold and wet, tired, you bet but all that I'll soon forget with my man

    He's not much on looks and no hero out of books it's my man
    Two or three girls has he that he likes as well as me but I love him

    I don't know why I should
    He isn't good, he isn't true
    He beats me, too, what can I do?

    Oh, my man, I love him so
    He'll never know, all my life is just despair
    But I don't care, when he takes me in his arms
    The world is bright, all right

    What's the difference if I say I'll go away
    When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
    For whatever my man is, I'm his forever more

    What's the difference if I say I'll go away
    When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
    For whatever my man is, I'm his forever more

  25. M.... K....

    her voice is fucin great..

  26. c.... ....

    I love Regina's music so much ! Even when she sings creepy songs about toxic relationships.

  27. R.... D....

    God, I love this track. Great job!

  28. A.... d....

    So good, so good.

  29. b.... ....

    Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks [the back up band heard here] play every Monday and Tuesday night at Iguana [240 W. 54th St. NYC  212 765 5454]  Boardwalk Empire's 11 piece band make the 1920s roar again !

  30. T.... B....

    amo su voz

  31. M.... B....

    does anybody knows where can I find the instrumental of this song ?

  32. W.... T....

    She's the queen! (the latin scholars get me)

    W.... T....

    +Will Talbot lol you don't need to be a Latin scholar to know Regina means "Queen."

    W.... T....

    Gyp Rosetti will kill him !

    W.... T....

    long live the Queen of Ghost

  33. D.... w....

    A masochistic woman singing of being hopelessly hooked on a cruel, vile jerk and she knows it perfectly well but she just can't or won't snap out of her addiction....

    D.... w....

    YASSSSS HUNTY

    D.... w....

    Dorothyellen w take a day off troll, it's an old song and it's real 😏

    D.... w....

    Jack .Reed *yes *honey

  34. r.... ....

    oh god i miss Boardwalk Empire 

  35. L.... K....

    Its over now, and this still remains the best song on the show.
    :(

  36. R.... ....

    I'm in love with her and her song. DAMN

  37. a.... c....

    this is really shitty

  38. M.... S....

    I made this song

  39. S.... S....

    Hey, it's the "Orange is the New Black" theme song singer!

    S.... S....

    regina spektor !!! she's amazing it hurts me to see people know her only from orange - which while being an amazing song, is not one of her bests. listen to her, you wont regret it !!!! :-) 

    S.... S....

    @***** she's really something :-) 

    S.... S....

    @***** Six years ago! has it really been that long!

  40. A.... K....

    I've never heard and don't want to know another version of this song, as it is perfect.

  41. S.... ....

    such an insincere interpretation.  billie holiday owns this song...give it back....

    S.... ....

    It is unfelt.

    S.... ....

    This is actually much more similar to the Mistinguet (SIC?) original, seeing as how that was written in the period Boardwalk Empire is set in then it seems fitting.  I find the Holiday version doesn't flow very well for the first half, but that is my opinion. Streisand seems to mutate the song into one of defiance which is plain and simply wrong.

    S.... ....

    @Kevin O Just because she wrote a song about Billie Holiday doesn't mean that her version of this song is sincere. It just means that she has feeling for Billie Holiday.

    S.... ....

    Billie Holiday was a superior singer to Spektor technically and it's a bit unfair comparing any singer to Holiday, really. Spektor may not have as impressive display of vibrato, glissandi and the like, but she carries an expressiveness, playfulness, sweetness and I dare say femininity that is quite unique. So, of course it is "true" and it has feeling. Every different version by a unique and talented signer carries differents pros and cons.

    S.... ....

    This is indeed originally a song from Mistinguett (1916) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_Homme
    So Billie Holiday's version is already a cover

  42. J.... V....

    Que original...fantasticooooo!!!

  43. W.... T....

    coulnt agree more with tony alcorn get over it.

  44. Q.... T....

    Wow, I just found interesting that one in day I heard the original by THE Fannie Brice, then I heard Barbra Streisand sing it from Funny Lady, then this version pops up. very educational. Wish I could sing just like Streisand. (but then don't we all.)
    When I hear Streisand's version I cry..... since I was 13 years old





  45. T.... A....

    Shut up, enjoy the music and learn from the past.
    get over it or don't listen.

  46. D.... S....

    @Save0urCulture You truly make me feel ashamed to have ovaries.

  47. r.... k....

    bellcarmens it is from the 1920,s and as a man i dont think that it should make you feel bad but try it in french.

  48. S.... ....

    The song is meant to Reinforce a Narrative, not much else. No hidden Meaning here People.

  49. t.... ....

    Perfectly stated!

  50. M.... ....

    You are right, however sometimes Art in any form can expose things that might look unpleasant and sad to us. Specifically in this case the lyrics re-reminds us how misogynistic and patriarchal our society used to be and somehow, still is.

  51. B.... ....

    Oh sorry for having another mother tongue than english. I'm working my arse off since the third grade and typed "definitely" wrong. Looks like I don't deserve to talk to you.
    You know, i don't need this shit. Have nice life.

  52. B.... ....

    You don't know me, love. I AM a woman what you would consider a woman. I wear dresses and make my nails and stuff but so can men and that is what i am up to. Stating an opinion is nothing that's just for men. Being sensitive is nothing that's just for women.
    And I'm definitly can't agree with your simple truth. The world would be much better if we wouldn't push people into stereotypes that they can't identify with. And believe it or not I'm genuinely completely happy the way i am.

  53. B.... ....

    I had had boyfriends, dates and mates before. It's not like I'm a bitter ugly hag nobody wants.There are wonderful, mature men outthere who think and feel like me. That are against the prejudices and clichés about males and females due to some simple physical differences. A man should be this, a woman that ... THIS is the bullshit.
    Make sure that you get your money from your friend since I'm single at the moment (which btw doesn't change the content of what i wrote.)

  54. B.... ....

    Feminist generally don't want men to stop being polite to them. I love it when a guy opens the door for me and helps me to put my coat on. I make pies for my boyfriend and pay for our dinner once a while. It's not about quitting being nice to each other. It's about politics, salary and stupid stereotypes. How unfair is it expecting every man to be strong? People are individual. Genders don't define us.
    Having my period doesn't make me weaker than a skinny man with stomach ulcers.

  55. B.... ....

    The fact that people say things like "You have to be pretty and good at cooking to get lucky" is part of the reason for all the feminist bullshit, you cute little smartass.

  56. B.... ....

    Jesus, fuck! I did NOT mean I hate men for real! In fact I LOVE them! They are beautiful and lovely and the greatest thing ever!
    But I'm terribly sorry for making your world more difficult by being a feminist. Seems like feminism has a very bad effect on your awesomeness. All these men wanting a girl with an own head suddenly; it's not easy to put up with eh?
    I like you're comparison with the Middle Age zombies though. Sounds legit.

  57. W.... F....

    This is a Barbra Streisand song, Yes 226Halo it is from Funny Girl, the character that Babs plays, Fanny Brice is the one that is pictured that way. Watch it. it's live changing :)

  58. 2.... ....

    isn't this from Funny Girl?

  59. K.... R....

    Good song!

  60. b.... m....

    deadly tune hahahahaha anti-feminist but there is girls out there that are like that

  61. B.... ....

    Better than the original !

  62. A.... L....

    Just shut

  63. b.... ....

    You're an idiot.

  64. T.... ....

    But then that wouldn't be this song. That is like saying to Elton John's sorry seems to be the hardest word 'why don't you write about how good it is to be forgiving in a relationship, you set the wrong example'. If you want a song about women throwing men out of their lives then listen to Beyonce.

  65. A.... A....

    interessant :) das gefehlt mir :)

  66. s.... ....

    I understand where ur coming from, but not every woman in literature has to be a role model. They can be weak. Forcing all of them into an empowered mold limits the spectrum of characters women can be. Obviously we need more women protagonists who are incharge of their own stories, but this song isn't aimed at all women or men. Its about a woman, a person, in a codependent relationship who can't see a way out and she's sad and scared.

  67. B.... ....

    Same with me. :)

  68. B.... ....

    Yes, i know. But it wasn't written for that purpose (doesn't have to mean it explicitly wants the opposite though). That's why I mind that men wrote this song.

  69. t.... ....

    I get what you're saying now, but I think that's true of every type of song. People could listen to a song that they're the baddest bitch in the whole world and that everyone is beneath them and people could take that too seriously. It just depends on the person how a song affects them. Some men might listen to this and think 'hey, that guy sounds like an asshole!', you know?

  70. B.... ....

    I said the lyrics are self-degrading, not that the song puts women down. There is a slight difference. She sings by herself that she can't leave her man and that makes him stand above her, so the song doesn't put her directly down, but the singer renounces her pride. And I find that alarming because the men back then could have taken this too serious 'til they see themselves superior.

  71. t.... ....

    But there are a whole lot of songs that describe successful relationships and how she aint' gonna take that shit no more. And I love those songs. I love all of the songs good and bad. I just think you were overreaching when you said it was trying to put women down, because I don't think it was doing that--it was just musing on the issue. It's a sad song alright, and having known people who have been through things like this I hope everyone would be able to break out of it, but it's not that way.

  72. B.... ....

    My problem is that she's degrading herself by describing her bad relationship in this way. That's all. I just wish she was more confident and it upsets me that the songwriters didn't create her so. It has nothing to do with me hating men when i think that this song wasn't written to help women. Maybe it is still sung to draw attention on this issue, though. That's okay, but it doesn't change the fact that the lyrics don't describe a role model who is able to leave her man. I would like that.

  73. t.... ....

    Yeah, you might want to go back and read my first comment again. No one's pushing you into a hypersensitive man hating stereotype. You did that for yourself when you the concept of this song completely and totally out of proportion. This song is not about putting women down. It's a reflection on bad relationships that have existed since the beginning of time. You pushed your own "women-degrading" thought process into this.

  74. B.... ....

    Again. I never said that. I was talking about the 10s' men. In the beginning of 20th (NOT 21th, dick) century even the most women didn't try to change anything. Then why should men do?
    I have enough male friends to know that those chauvinistic times are over. I'm sick of you trying to push me in that hypersensitiv-men-hating-feminist-stereotyp you have in your mind. I'm not that kind of person.
    Don't piss on me because I feel offended by dated women-degrading lyrics written by men from the 10s.

  75. t.... ....

    Oh, and thanks for implying that men can't be women's activists. You're what's wrong with the movement today.

  76. t.... ....

    ...My GOD you are astonishingly ignorant and close minded. That was the entire point of the song you ignoramus--because, and this may come as a shock to your naive worldview, relationships like this exist. Relationships like this have always fucking existed. Hell, I can point to you some relationships in this century that are similar to this song. I can point you to musicians both male and female who write shit like this in this day and age.

  77. B.... ....

    Not in the beginning of the 20th century, darling. Of course the writers could've felt an similiar dependency somewhere in their lifes and wanted to write from a women's perspective. But that's not the point. I can't tell, anyways.
    The point is the lady in this song seems weak and defenseless and she doesn't even care about it because she's so in love with her prick of a man. And I just wish the lyrics would sketch her more hopeful and confident. Your male women's right activists missed that.

  78. t.... ....

    No one is here twisting your words. And I'm sorry, but why is it so unbelievable that men are able to criticize male society and explain the plight of women? The implication that men are incapable of understanding women's feelings or that they are simply out to get women at all times is downright sexist and ignorant.

  79. B.... ....

    Would you please stop twisting my words? Saying "The lyrics are anti-feminist" and "We should encourage this women to leave" doesn't mean "Don't speak about this stuff!" and "This songs encourage them to stay". I don't think that. I just don't want her to say that "she'll come back on her knees", because it kills me inside.
    But come on! A "musical commentary"? Yeah - a bunch of french men wrote this song during the 10s to state the situation of women and to critize male society, of course!

  80. t.... ....

    But you realize not every song has to be about happy go lucky girl empowerment right? That a lot of music comes from personal experience and pain, and that doesn't mean that they're trying to encourage women to stay in abusive relationship, or even doing anything besides ruefully looking in on a bad relationship. And this may come as a shock to you, but just because a MAN(because men are soooo horrible right) wrote it, doesn't mean it's a ploy to put women down. It's fucking musical commentary.

  81. B.... ....

    I never said that. I just think it's way more helpful to encourage abused women to leave their men instead of writing such things as this self-degrading but beautiful song here.
    And i think it's absolutely legit to call the MEN who wrote this song "arrogant". The wankers part was a little bit hard, though. I see.

  82. t.... ....

    So basically we should ignore the fact that stuff like this happened and still does happened because it's uncomfortable and 'anti-feminist'? And arrogant? What way of completely misinterpreting the song.

  83. g.... o....

    Boardwalk Empire docet

  84. N.... A....

    Literally obsessed

  85. E.... P....

    I love Harley Quinn! She is so cool! LOL

  86. J.... B....

    Gee,it would be good if she had a decent voice.
    Weak & no feeling.
    CRAPPY!

  87. j.... c....

    up against some of the best historic renditions of this song (no small feat) - reginia spector blows em' out of the water. spare, succinct, and dead level phrasing coupled with sparkling clear backup makes the 30's deco life tragedy alive again - the depression life is resurrected and alive and well!!

  88. 1.... ....

    love this, but still always come back to Miss Faye's version.

  89. K.... 7....

    This really does sound like it was recorded in the 20s minus the scratchiness that you'd get on the old gramaphones and cylinders.

  90. S.... B....

    This song was written in French for the French Music-Hall Diva Mistinguett in 1920, I think. and was then covered in english by Fanny Brice in 1921, for the Ziegfeld follies (if my memory is right) To me this version is the most similar to the original french version... I kinda like it. Way Better than the Barbra streisand version in my opinion.

  91. r.... L....

    15 people obviously mistook the dislike button for the like button.

  92. i.... l....

    This is her second cover of this you know XD

  93. B.... ....

    yes. of course i get all of this and i believe back in the 20s it was a common and realistic situation for a girl being this depending on a man. but nonetheless this was written by men. Check "Mon Homme" on Wikipedia.
    And I do think for today's standards it is just self-degrading to say or sing such things. I mean Brabra Streisand left the beating-part out cause it's just inappropriate. Women aren't helpless anymore and we need to encourage battered women instead of just showing their situation

  94. W.... ....

    I think you might have misinterpreted the song a little. It was actually written by a woman and is supposed to be sad. It's a very realistic and heartbreaking story of "battered woman syndrome". The speaker is in a relationship with an abusive, unfaithful guy, but she loves him so much that even after he mistreats her, she keeps coming back to him. This song isn't an anti-feminist support of this kind of relationship, but to show a very sad reality of some women's lives, especially back then.

  95. B.... ....

    I was quite confused hearing this song in broadwalk empire. "hey, sounds like regina spektor. is this really from the 20s?"
    it kinda kills me inside that i like this song that much because the lyrics are just awful ... anti-feminist and unliberated. I would like to kick the ass of the men (!!) who wrote this. These arrogant wankers broke my heart.

  96. J.... S....

    catch me if I fall,

  97. J.... S....

    Regina. I know she is nothing. And I known

  98. B.... H....

    How does an artistic cover of a song become a big gay war? shut the fuck up and enjoy the song! this isn't FoxNews

  99. R.... N....

    Um, as a gay woman, Valeria was likely making a statement about how even though she can't relate to having/wanting a romantic relationship with a man, she still enjoys this song. Being gay is totally relevant to her comment. And your homophobic slur is totally out of line and hateful.