Family Man

It's a quiet evening again in Becky's World. I wasn't sure what type of 80s song would be good for the night, but I wanted to find something different. There are so many choices between rock, pop, rap, R&B, dance - and the list goes on. Alas, I thought it would be interesting to look at something kind of quirky, so I was listening to "Family Man" by Hall and Oates. I always loved this song - probably because it had such a unique sound and was catchy in sort of a mysterious way. The song was released in 1983 and paints a picture of an encounter between a married man and a prostitute - hence the chorus. "He said 'leave me alone, I'm a family man, and my bark is much worse than my bite'..." When you read the lyrics alone, it's kind of funny. I suppose the phrase "leave me alone" could be delivered in many scenarios. I think about kids who are throwing a tantrum, or perhaps someone who is upset and stewing in self-pity. In this case, "leave me alone" is a cry of defense, which I think is sort of comical. After the story is basically done, and the prostitute walks away, the chorus says "then he screamed 'leave me alone, I'm a family man'..." So, I'm just picturing this stonewall married guy standing his ground and screaming to the prostitute. Leave me alone!!!! Hmm...

From a musical perspective, there are some excellent guitar lines in this song. In the video, you'll see (and hear) lead guitarist G.E. Smith, who later led the Saturday Night Live Band. I think my favorite element of the song is this sort of mysterious reverb/echo on the vocals. We hear this in Daryl Hall's lead vocals and also in parts of the chorus toward the end: "leave me alone.... ah ahah..." Catchy, strange, and cool all at the same time. The video is also pretty interesting - close up shots of Hall conveying the intrigue as he sings, lots of dancing by the family, and two video game-type characters (man and woman) to link the story. I still really enjoy this tune and the video. It's a unique sound and a very interesting story to portray in an 80s song. With all our political scandals today, it's funny to look back at this song and think about the screaming family man. Just kidding. Enjoy!