Estimated reading time at 200 wpm: 3 minutes
🧠 Core Argument
Get the picture: John Oates, armed with a saxophone and a crystal ball, declares that Maneater is actually a prophecy about 1980s New York—a city possessed by the ghost of Gordon Gekko and haunted by the spirit of spoiled caviar. The sidewalks whisper stock tips, the pigeons wear Rolexes, and every taxi cab is powered by pure avarice.
Oh, of course Maneater is about New York City. Because when I hear “She’s a witch,” my first thought is definitely urban infrastructure. John Oates, master of metaphor, clearly intended every line to be a subtle nod to Wall Street and not, say, a woman who might chew you up and spit you out.
Well, forget the lyrics if you’re amnestic enough; the music video, and the actual inspiration—a real woman with a sailor’s mouth and runway looks. That’s just window dressing. The real story is about pavements and skyscrapers.
Because nothing screams “urban decay” like a woman in heels.
🔍 Lyric Gymnastics
Let’s play a game: take every emotionally charged lyric and twist it into a love letter to urban decay.
- “Watch out boy she’ll chew you up” — Translation: Rent prices are high.
- “She-cat tamed by the purr of a jaguar” — Translation: The underground is soothing.
- “She’s a witch” — Translation: Times Square is enchanting.
- “Good girl gone bad” — Translation: Gentrification.
- “The woman is wild” — Translation: The pigeons are aggressive.
- “Wouldn’t recommend her to a friend” — Translation: Midtown traffic is unbearable.
- “She’ll only come out at night” — Translation: The city’s nightlife is booming.
- “Her eyes are on the door” — Translation: Constant turnover in commercial real estate.
- “Money’s the matter” — Translation: Wall Street never sleeps.
- “She could really rip your world apart” — Translation: The subway system is emotionally destabilising.
- “Mind over matter” — Translation: Urban resilience.
- “The beauty is there but a beast is in her heart” — Translation: Gritty charm of the city.
See? It all makes perfect sense if you squint hard enough and ignore the actual words.
And if you run out of metaphors, just throw in a skyline reference. Works every time.
🧩 Reputation Management 101
Why admit you wrote a song about a woman who scared you when you can say it’s about a city? It’s poetic, it’s intellectual, and best of all—it’s plausible if you say it with enough confidence.
Plus, it’s a great way to dodge accusations of misogyny. Just rebrand your femme fatale as a metaphor for capitalism. Boom—problem solved.
And let’s be honest, nothing says “I respect women” like turning them into metaphors for crumbling infrastructure.
🧭 Final Thoughts
In the end, Maneater is whatever you need it to be. A cautionary tale about a woman? Sure. A gritty portrait of 1980s NYC? Absolutely. A clever way to rewrite history and sound deep? Now we’re talking.
Bravo, Mr Oates. We’re all buying it. Totally.
Next up: “Private Eyes”—a stirring tribute to CCTV surveillance.
Or maybe “Rich Girl”—a critique of late-stage capitalism.
Keep the metaphors coming. You know everybody is a fool!
