Your Woman
"Your Woman" | ||||
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Single by White Town | ||||
from the album Women in Technology | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 13 January 1997 | |||
Genre |
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Length | 4:20 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | White Town | |||
White Town singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"Your Woman"
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"Your Woman" is a song by British
With male vocals sung from a female perspective, "Your Woman" became the first gender-reversal song to top the UK chart.[3] In the booklet of their 1999 album 69 Love Songs, The Magnetic Fields' frontman Stephin Merritt described "Your Woman" as one of his "favourite pop songs of the last few years."[4] In 2010, the song was named the 158th best track of the 1990s by Pitchfork.[5]
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 presenter at the time) who played it, helping Mishra gain much recognition in a short time.[2]
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".[6]
Mishra wrote that the themes of the song include: "Being a member of an orthodox
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 for me and sort-of characterises what's been going on for me the last few years." The song was created using free MIDI sequencing software for the Atari ST and a cheap multitrack cassette tape recorder.[7]
Composition
J'na Jefferson of
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".[2]
Critical reception
A reviewer from
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Your Woman" was produced in black and white silent film style. Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Derby.
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
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
Abort, Retry, Fail?_
>Abort, Retry, Fail?_ | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | 1996 | |||
Length | 17:37 | |||
Label | Parasol, Chrysalis | |||
White Town chronology | ||||
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White Town EP chronology | ||||
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The song was released as a four-track single CD or EP called >Abort, Retry, Fail?_. The title of the EP was taken from the DOS error message "Abort, Retry, Fail?". This referred to the problems White Town's sole member, Jyoti Mishra, had when a computer crashed during the production of the track. Mishra's liner notes and associated blog post of the single explain this with "I got the title for this single from the weekend I mixed the tracks. My hard drive went bonkers and I spent 72 hours reformatting the dang thing".[14] As an EP, it reached 40 in New Zealand.[15]
Influence and legacy
In the booklet of their 1999 album 69 Love Songs, The Magnetic Fields' frontman Stephin Merritt described "Your Woman" as one of his "favourite pop songs of the last few years."[4] Q magazine featured the song in their list of "The 1010 Songs You Must Own" in 2004.[16] Pitchfork named it the 158th best track of the 1990s in 2010.[5]
Slant Magazine listed it at No. 72 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011, writing, "A one-hit wonder 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 funk rhythm section straight out of Prince'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 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."[17]
Track listings
- "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
- "Your Woman" – 4:18
- "Give Me Some Pain" – 4:23
- Italian 12-inch single[22]
- A1. "Your Woman" (The Fights 2000 mix)
- B1. "Your Woman"
- B2. "Give Me Some Pain"
- "Your Woman" – 4:18
- "Theme for a Late-Night Documentary About the Dangers of Drug Abuse" – 6:08
- The trumpet on "Your Woman" is sampled from "My Woman" by Pennies From Heaven.[25]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[70] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
France ( SNEP)[71]
|
Gold | 250,000* |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[72] | Gold | 5,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[73] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United Kingdom | 13 January 1997 |
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[74] |
United States | 14 January 1997 | Modern rock radio
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[75] |
25 February 1997 | [76] | |||
11 March 1997 |
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[77] | ||
Japan | 26 March 1997 | CD | Chrysalis | [78] |
Tyler James version
"Your Woman" | ||||
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Single by Tyler James | ||||
from the album The Unlikely Lad | ||||
Released | 22 August 2005 | |||
Length | 3:45 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Producer(s) | Jony Rockstar | |||
Tyler James singles chronology | ||||
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British singer songwriter
Track listings
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Your Woman" | 3:45 |
2. | "Temptation" | 3:15 |
Charts
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
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61 |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United Kingdom | 22 August 2005 | Digital download | Island | [80] |
CD | [81] |
Princess Chelsea version
"Your Woman" | ||||
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Single by Princess Chelsea | ||||
Released | 6 February 2009 | |||
Length | 4:39 | |||
Label | Lil' Chief | |||
Producer(s) |
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Princess Chelsea singles chronology | ||||
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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.[82]
Other covers
- Finnish band Cats on Fire covered the song in 2010, on their album Dealing in Antiques.[83]
- Australian indie rock band British India performed a version live on radio station Triple J's weekly segment Like a Version in October 2013.[84]
- 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.[85]
- 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.[86]
Sampling
- Polish hip hop duo Peel Motyff sampled the song in "Nie jest tak źle" in 2001, on their album Sieć.[citation needed]
See also
- 1997 in music
- 1997 in British music
- "Love Again" by Dua Lipa, which also sampled Lew Stone's original version of "My Woman".
References
- ^ "Your Woman by White Town - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Jefferson, J'na (30 March 2020). "White Town's Jyoti Mishra on Dua Lipa Lifting 'Your Woman' Hook For 'Love Again': 'There's Magic in Old Samples'". Billboard. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ Jones, Alan (1 February 1997). "The Official UK Charts". Music Week. p. 13.
- ^ a b Ewing, Tom (15 January 2000). "An Interview With White Town's Jyoti Mishra". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ a b "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 200-151 - Page 5". Pitchfork. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ a b "White Town – Your Questions Answered!". Whitetown.co.uk. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ Pemberton, Daniel. "Bedroom to Big Time". Wired – via www.wired.com.
- ^ Songfacts. "Your Woman by White Town - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 1 July 2021. Jefferson refers to the original recording by Al Bowlly, but Bowlly's vocals on the Lew Stone track are not sampled.
- ^ Flick, Larry (1 March 1997). "Single Reviews: New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard. p. 60. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ "Bedroom angst takes unknown straight to top of the pop charts." The Guardian [London, England], 20 January 1997, p. 1.
- ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 28 December 1996. p. 17. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ Fawbert, Dave (19 July 2017). "29 classic songs that are somehow 20 years old this year". ShortList. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Morris, Gina (26 February 1997). "Review: Albums". Smash Hits. No. 476. p. 60. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- ^ Mishra, Jyoti (24 October 2006). "White Town - Abort, Retry, Fail?". White Town. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "End of Year Charts 1997". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "Q 1010 Songs You Must Own". www.rocklistmusic.co.uk.
- ^ "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s". Slant Magazine. 9 January 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ Your Woman (UK CD single liner notes). White Town. Chrysalis Records, Brilliant! Records. 1997. CDCHS 5052, 7243 8 83629 2 4.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Your Woman (Australian CD single liner notes). White Town. Chrysalis Records, Brilliant! Records. 1997. 724388376921.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Your Woman (UK cassette single sleeve). White Town. Chrysalis Records, Brilliant! Records. 1997. TCCHS 5052, 7243 8 83629 4 8.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Your Woman (European CD single liner notes). White Town. Chrysalis Records, Brilliant! Records. 1997. 07243 8 83753 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Your Woman (Italian 12-inch single vinyl disc). White Town. EMI Records. 1997. 7243 8 83755 6 6.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Your Woman (US CD single liner notes). White Town. EMI Records, Chrysalis Records, Brilliant! Records. 1997. F25D-58638, 7243 8 58638 2 0.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Your Woman (US cassette single sleeve). White Town. EMI Records, Chrysalis Records, Brilliant! Records. 1997. 4KM-58638, 7243-8-58638-4-4.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "White Town – Your Questions Answered!". Whitetown.co.uk. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3217." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3232." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 3233." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3188." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Billboard – Google Books. 12 April 1997. Retrieved 31 March 2014 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 6. 8 February 1997. p. 19. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "White Town: Your Woman" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
- Les classement single.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 21. 24 May 1997. p. 14. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Dagblaðið Vísir(in Icelandic). 21 February 1997. p. 16. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Your Woman". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Williams, Paul (22 March 1997). "Artist Profile: White Town" (PDF). Music Week. p. 26. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 10, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman". VG-lista.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "White Town – Your Woman". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 7 June 1997. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Adult Pop Airplay". Billboard. 24 May 1997. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. 26 July 1997. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Alternative Airplay". Billboard. 26 April 1997. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Pop Airplay". Billboard. 14 June 1997. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "1997 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1997" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Rapports annuels 1997" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved 22 July 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks". RPM. Retrieved 22 July 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1997" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 52. 27 December 1997. p. 7. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- SNEP. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ "Árslistinn 1997 – Íslenski Listinn – 100 Vinsælustu Lögin". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1998. p. 25. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ^ "End Of Year Charts 1997". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles 1997". Music Week. 17 January 1998. p. 27.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1997". Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ "The Year in Music 1997: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 52. 27 December 1997. p. YE-73.
- Airplay Monitor. Vol. 5, no. 52. 28 December 1997. p. 38.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – White Town – Abort, Retry, Fail/Your Woman". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "British single certifications – White Town – Your Woman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ "White Town: Your Woman" (PDF). Music Week. 28 December 1996. p. 1. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Reece, Doug (8 February 1997). "Popular Uprisings" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 6. p. 15. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1185. 21 February 1997. pp. 35, 41. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Sexton, Paul (15 February 1997). "White Town is a U.K. Fave" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 7. p. 9. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ "ユア・ウーマン | ホワイト・タウン" [Your Woman | White Town] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - Your Woman - Single by Tyler James". Itunes.apple.com. 22 August 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ "Amazon.de - Tyler James - Your Woman". Amazon.de. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Your Woman by Princess Chelsea". Princesschelsea.lilchiefrecords.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ "Cats On Fire with compilation of older songs". Eardrumsmusic.com. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ British India cover White Town 'Your Woman' for Like A Version, archived from the original on 14 December 2021, retrieved 3 February 2020
- ^ "City & Country Radio – Top Week Hits – Tophit Music Charts". TopHit.ru. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "White Town: Your Woman 1917 - single review - Storge". Storge. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ Mulderrig, Amie (9 March 2010). "Watford music producer notches up another chart hit". Watford Observer. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
External links
- Abort, Retry, Fail? EP White town