Playboy To A Man

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You had your own way one too many times
And now you're going to find out what it's like
Just what it's like, now you're a mess
You wanted something you could never possess

You went your own way one too many nights
You treated her like some small oversight
What in the world makes her think that she can
Turn you from a playboy into a man

(chorus):
She's going to make you suffer tonight
To turn you from a playboy into a man
And when you're worthy of her then she might
Turn you from a playboy into a man

You thought you were the answer to her prayers
The perfect gift that every girl prefers
But that's the trouble 'cos every girl still thinks you're hers
So there you are with your gold chains jangling
Your lucky charms and your jewelry dangling
But when she saw you she turned and ran
To turn you from a playboy into a man

(chorus)

You couldn't see that the juvenile things you do
Would drag you down and now that the joke's on you
You're pretty cold, you end as you start
When your facade isn't falling apart

So now you're standing in your underwear
Well now you know just how it feels for her
You're halfway there you know that she can
Turn you from a playboy into a man

(chorus)

Playboy To A Man
Written byPaul McCartney & Declan MacManus
Performed byElvis Costello (featuring "The Mighty Corsican")
Produced byMitchell Froom, Kevin Killen & D.P.A. MacManus
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, big stupid guitar, 12-string Rickenbacker
Jerry Scheff - bass
Jim Keltner - drums
Larry Knechtel - upright piano
Marc Ribot - guitar section
Froom-Tench-Knechtel - "piano frenzy"
Costello-Froom - Cox organ
Recordedlate 1990-early 1991, Ocean Way, Hollywood & Westside Studios, London
ReleasedMay 10, 1991
AlbumsMighty Like A Rose, 1991
Length3:16

First known performance:
May 26, 1991, Los Angeles, CA
Last known performance:
September 23, 1991, Melbourne, Australia
     (32 known performances)


Alternate version

Playboy To A Man (Original Demo)
Performed byPaul McCartney & Elvis Costello
Produced byPaul McCartney
RecordedOctober 23, 1987, Hog Hill Mill, East Sussex, England
ReleasedMarch 24, 2017
AlbumsPaul McCartney: Flowers In The Dirt (reissue), 2017
Length2:58

Paul McCartney version

Playboy To A Man (1988 Demo)
Performed byPaul McCartney
Produced byPaul McCartney & Elvis Costello
MusiciansPaul McCartney - lead vocal, Hofner bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
Elvis Costello - lead vocal, guitar, backing vocals
Hamish Stuart - electric guitar
Kevin Armstrong - electric guitar
Chris Whitten - drums
RecordedJanuary 26, 1988, Hog Hill Mill, East Sussex, England
ReleasedMarch 24, 2017
AlbumsPaul McCartney: Flowers In The Dirt (reissue), 2017
Length2:55
Mighty Like A RoseMLAR album cover large.jpg

Covers

Erich Sellheim home studio production, sung in German 2020 YouTube

Internal links

External links