He’d give up all his comforts/
And sleep out in the rain.
If she said that’s the way/
It ought to be.

Everyone thinks “When a Man Loves a Woman” is a love song. It’s not! It’s a song about all the foolish decisions a man makes when he loves a woman. He spends all his money, he can’t see her cheating, he ditches his friends, he’ll sleep out in the rain if she tells him to. It sounds like someone got burned. Love can make us into a fool.

What is interesting is that this song is sung at weddings. It is in the camp of songs that should be retired from weddings because they are really not happy love songs. Songs like “Every Breath You Take” and Dido’s “Don’t Leave Home” come to mind.

Listening back, the organ does sound a bit ominous. Like a funeral march. The horns sound kind of depressing too. This is more of a “chicks suck” song than a love song. Remarkably, the song does hold up well musically for being a song from the 50s. A lot of songs from that time period have not aged well. This still sounds relatively contemporary. (Compared to something like Tuiti Fruiti).

When a Man Loves a Woman Lyrics

When a man loves a woman
Can’t keep his mind on nothin’ else
He’d trade the world
For a good thing he’s found
If she is bad, he can’t see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he puts her down

When a man loves a woman
Spend his very last dime
Trying to hold on to what he needs
He’d give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she said that’s the way
It ought to be

When a man loves a woman
I give you everything I’ve got (yeah)
Trying to hold on
To your precious love
Baby please don’t treat me bad

When a man loves a woman
Deep down in his soul
She can bring him such misery
If she is playing him for a fool
He’s the last one to know
Loving eyes can never see

Yes when a man loves a woman
I now exactly how he feels
‘Cause baby, baby, baby
I am a man
When a man loves a woman

Songwriters: Calvin Houston Lewis / Andrew James Wright