Woman in Chains (feat. Oleta Adams)

Content warning:
This post discusses issues of men’s violence against women.

Yesterday afternoon, as occasionally happens, I received a hands-free phone call from one of our sons while he was driving to his home from work.

He was excited to tell how he had just heard the “best song ever,” as he referred to “Woman in Chains,” by the English pop/new wave band Tears for Fears. I said that he would have heard this song many years ago as, in our home, I played the record a lot as I was (and am) a big fan of Tears for Fears. We discussed the brilliant, rich production style of their albums. And, being the older guy I am, I couldn’t help but comment on how amazing it was to see that today, the band’s founding members, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith (both b. 1961 in England), look remarkably similar to the way they did when they exploded onto the new wave music scene more than forty years ago, evading most of the often grizzled look that comes from decades of rock music and all its trimmings.

One of the things that drew me to Tears for Fears was the magnificently clean sound of their production and, of course, the unique sound they brought to a musical world that had been upended by punk rock and was finding its way in the post-punk milieu. Tears for Fears brought it all: powerful ballads, anthems, and oratories, seeking justice and peace in a fragile world.

In a (unjustifiably) mediocre review of the then-new album The Seeds of Love (1989), a Los Angeles Times newspaper writer described the opening track as a “feminist anthem,” which I feel is a fitting description of the song. The album, however, is a banger that stands the test of time, as do all their early works, in my opinion. (I can’t comment on their releases past Elemental, a 1993 post-breakup Tears for Fears release by Orzabal, as I didn’t follow the band’s discography after that one.)

The “Woman in Chains” video opens with cutaway shots of the band, a man training as a boxing fighter, and a woman dancing in a men’s club. It becomes clear the woman and man are a couple and that he brings a fierce case of male toxicity to the relationship. While his craft is violence, he has allowed it to permeate his whole life in subtle or dramatic ways: at the breakfast table, he breaks that cardinal rule of a “civilized” home by drinking from the carton instead of pouring himself a glass, and rather than being grateful for being served a lovely plate of food, he is mean, brutally handling her. Even his attempts to initiate lovemaking are sullied by violence. She, by stark contrast, is a vision of peace and pure, bright beauty as she faithfully hangs the laundry and makes him food, tending to their home with love in every move.

It seems the woman feels free only when dancing, albeit dressed “in chains” in a men’s club, a temple of sorts for leering at beautiful women. However, in the company of the other performers, likely also living in fear of abuse, she has community and, yes, an imperfect form of peace (as symbolized by a peace sign pendant that sways visibly on one of her friends’ necks).

The only time the man appears remotely contemplative is sitting, taping his knuckles, though he notices one hand shaking. Is it an illness or simply the inner rage he goes into again and again, instead of going within and working out his demons? Even when the woman initiates intimate comforting, he eventually runs from that, using wire fencing as his punching bag. He’s a mess.

She returns to the club and her sisters, feeling that it is a place she can be herself, safe with her sisters, even though the site does not honour the goddess but rather objectifies and exploits her. In the end, the man retreats to the solitude of a rooftop to tend to his birds; on the surface, perhaps a peaceful pursuit and the only time we observe him showing a sustained gentleness… but the birds, too, are imprisoned, too. No one in his life is free, including him.

“You better love lovin’ and you better behave
You better love lovin’ and you better behave
Woman in chains
Woman in chains

Calls her man the great white hope
Says she’s fine, she’ll always cope
Woman in chains
Woman in chains

Well I feel lying and waiting is a poor man’s deal
(A poor man’s deal)
And I feel hopelessly weighed down by your eyes of steel
(Your eyes of steel)
Well, it’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains, whoa
Woman in chains
Woman in chains

Trades her soul as skin and bones
(You better love lovin’ and you better behave)
Sells the only thing she owns
(You better love lovin’ and you better behave)
Woman in chains
(The sun and the moon)
Woman in chains

Men of stone
Men of stone

Well I feel deep in your heart there are wounds time can’t heal
(That time can’t heal)
And I feel somebody somewhere is trying to breathe
Well you know what I mean
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains

It’s under my skin but out of my hands
I’ll tear it apart but I won’t understand
I will not accept the greatness of man

It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains
(Gone crazy, keeps woman in chains)

So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
(The sun and the moon)
So free her
(The wind and the rain)
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
(The sun and the moon)
So free her
(The wind and the rain)
So free her”

“Woman in Chains,” by Roland Orzabal.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.

As I describe above and in my post on “Sowing the Seeds of Love” (both it and today’s selection come from the 1989 album The Seeds of Love), Tears for Fears is a superb band that writes, plays, records and produces their music impeccably. Their sound is something I could listen to a lot.

“Woman in Chains” was the song that significantly boosted the career of American singer and pianist Oleta Adams (b. 1953), who had a prominent vocal part in it. And I didn’t know until reading up on the piece today that English drummer, musician, singer, songwriter and former Genesis member Phil Collins (b. 1951), forever famous for his 1991 drum riff on his debut solo rock single “In the Air Tonight,” played drums on the studio recording of “Woman in Chains.” (Collins also played extra drums on the English musician, author and producer Brian Eno’s 1974 experimental/glam rocker “Mother Whale Eyeless.” These musicians sure get around and help each other out sometimes!)

It would be wonderful to think that a brilliantly made song could have a powerful impact on men’s violence against women. And as several friends and I believe, music does have the power to bring about change. However, this persistent issue will take much more heart and soul work until we get to a place in the world “where women can feel free to walk at night,” as a dear Colorado friend has worked, wished and prayed for, for more than three decades. All men need to take this on. We need to do so much better.

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.

Here is the official music video from the Tears for Fears YouTube/VEVO channel:

With love,

Steve

A note to readers: If you or a woman you know is experiencing violence, there are resources to help.

In Canada:

Women’s Shelters Canada: https://endvaw.ca/external-resources/

In the USA:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/search-our-resources/

In Europe:

Women Against Violence Europe: https://wave-network.org/find-help/

Elsewhere in the World:

Contact your local women’s shelter or police agency for assistance if you or someone you know is in danger.

* * *

If you’re a man who is prone to violence, please contact counsellors, therapists or health authorities to be referred to a professional practitioner who can help you. You can also search online for men’s groups where you may find non-professional coaching on healthy masculinity, though this isn’t a substitute for professional help.