Fleetwood Mac – Man of the World

And there’s no one I’d rather beBut I just wish that I’d never been born

I have to thank obbverse and CB for their enthusiasm for this version of the band. It really made me look back into their catalog more and find these great songs. This song in particular, really hit me hard lyrically and musically. Incredibly haunting and beautiful.  After a couple of listens, it has stuck with me ever since. 

The more I hear this early stuff by Fleetwood Mac, the more I like it. I knew about it from friends growing up who had these albums, but never really explored them until around 5-6 years ago. This song really shows how much soul Peter Green had in him. This song was part song, part confession, and so genuine. The song peaked at #2 in the UK in 1968. This version of the band was rooted in British blues and driven by the Green.

He wrote this song during a time he was getting wary of the fame, wealth, and the music business. A song that someone who appears to have everything but is lost. Green was battling depression and had begun experimenting heavily with LSD. Within a year, he would walk away from Fleetwood Mac entirely, unable to cope with the spotlight and pressure. What followed was a long period of mental health struggles, hospitalization, and silence for many years.

This song was released as a standalone single in April 1969. It marks one of Green’s most poignant personal songs, a ballad that stands apart from the blues-heavy sound the band was known for during its early years.

Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac a year after this was released and gave all his money away to charity. He played some with Fleetwood Mac in 1971 but vanished. In 1977, Mick Fleetwood arranged a record deal for Green, but it fell through when Peter refused to sign the contract.

Mick Fleetwood: “It’s a sad song. Had we known what Peter was saying… What’s that line? ‘How I wish that I’d never been born.’ You know, whoa. It’s pregnant with passion, it’s a prayer, it’s a crying out.”

Ian Anderson has a nice cover of this song as well.

Man of the World

Shall I tell you about my lifeThey say I’m a man of the worldI’ve flown across every tideAnd I’ve seen lots of pretty girls

I guess I’ve got everything I needI wouldn’t ask for moreAnd there’s no one I’d rather beBut I just wish that I’d never been born

And I need a good womanTo make me feel like a good man shouldI don’t say I’m a good manOh, but I would be if I could

I could tell you about my lifeAnd keep you amused I’m sureAbout all the times I’ve criedAnd how I don’t want to be sad anymoreAnd how I wish I was in love

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

63 thoughts on “Fleetwood Mac – Man of the World”

  2. Peter Green announced he wanted to give away his wealth and even threatened his accountant with a gun, his manager ultimately intervened, and his money was managed by others. Green’s desire to give away his money and his subsequent actions were linked to his struggle with mental health, including episodes of psychosis and diagnoses of schizophrenia.

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  3. I love this song. So great. I came across this on a CD I found in a bargain bin, with the strangest combination of songs you ever saw. It has everything from Eydie Gorme to Bob Marley to the Chi-Lites. It was called In The Heat Of The Night and I even wrote a review on Amazon. Of course, this was the best song on it, and prompted me to look into their earlier stuff. I like all the eras of the group, but I think my favorite early albums are Kiln House and Bare Trees. I like the Bob Welch era a lot.

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    1. Oh I posted Jewel Eyed Judy before…I loved that era as well. They had so many. They do have a lot of good songs throughout…its cool to look at their tree and hear the different types of music they did.

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      2. One of the songs I like best by them is The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)….I have to look that title up every time!
        I’m listening to Pete T do that now live…it’s awesome

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  6. This is the only version of Fleetwood Mac I listen to. When Eric Clapton left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Mayall said, “Don’t worry. We got someone better.” As B.B. King said, “He was the only guitarist who made me sweat”. Green’s guitar sings, it cries, it is magic.

    Since the band’s name is from the rhythm section (Fleetwood and McVie), they of course have the right to keep the name, but the Green band and the Buckingham/Nicks band are not the same band in any way.

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    1. I love this era now…I was late but late is better than never. Genuine is the word I would use for the music I’ve heard from Green. No not the same in any way.

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  7. I never liked early Mac but, this was haunting. Beautiful chords. I just learned that he wrote Black Magic Woman. I had no idea. I thought Carlos had written it…and Gregg Rolie was the singer…all about Green’s girlfriend. What a sad, sad man…messed up in the head…😭

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    1. This one is completely different…almost so honest that I feel like I’m intruding on the guy.
      Yea Green was great…personally I’ve pretty much been drawn now to the early stuff. They are not worn out and I like the blues influence as well.

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      2. Yea…I had just saw a doc of him around 2 years before…that is when I really started to like this version. In fact it was this one…really interesting story about him Vic. He gave away all of his money for charities.

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  8. I agree they were two different bands- I’d never have guessed this was a Fleetwood Mac song. Guitar’s very good but the song doesn’t grab me like it does you, I guess, which is fine. I do like a few of their early-ish songs though, especially ”hypnotized’ …but I think that was from the Bob Welch era, not Green’s

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    1. The first time I listened to this song…I thought it was good…the second time it really hit me as great. They really had 3 versions…Green, After Green, and then Buckingham.
      A different musical influence and style completely.

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      2. I was thinking about it as well. It would be like AC/DC suddenly changing to a top 40 band. Thats how big they changed lol…that might be a little over the top but close. Lets use Cream…if they did it…that fits more because of the loud electric blues.

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  9. the thing about Mac at that time, I know they leaned towards the blues sometimes, but they I don’t think really were…they always even from the early days were a package of a lot, and have been up to recent days….and the band at that time, even Danny Kerwin and Jeremy Spencer were fighting through personal demons….while I liked the origins (I loved the odd things like Fighting for Madge stuff on then play on) but they could always really play….Kiln House with Jewel Eyed Judy and Tell me all the Things that you do, they could rock with the best, and I guess that has a lot to do with Fleetwood and McVie…..and even through the Penguin era with Dave Walker? that sound, the style has always been there…….and always the guitars, they’ve always had that too…even to the days of Billy Burnett and Dave Mason!…My secret fave is Fleetwood’s solo album the Visitor with Peter Greenbaum…I’ve always wanted to know more about Kerwin, I’ve actually still have his solo album Hello there Big Boy which is really good….so that’ll be my listening this morning, and because I had to dig through the Ks, Kid Creole, and will piss my wife off and listen to If You Wanna Be Happy….that should perk me up at least

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    1. My favorite song by Fleetwood Mac other than this one…and I mean the whole catalog is a strange one… “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)”….I just loved that.
      I’ve heard Rattlesnake Shake off that Fleetwood album….I’ll check it out warren…sounds good!
      If You Wanna Be Happy…GREAT song! If that doesn’t make you happy…nothing will.

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  11. Even though I listened to Fleetwood Mac and heard this when it came out, I only began appreciating it some years later. Green Manalishi was always my favourite of theirs but of course was another one with lyrics that reflected Peter Green’s mind.

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    1. Yes…that is my favorite as well! Something about that song draws me in. I love that song…I did a post on it a while back. I also liked, after Green left, Jewel Eyed Judy.

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  12. Something about this band grabbed me right from the start. I still spin them regularly. Seeing that video stirs up so many emotions about these guys. When they were at their peak they were tops. The cut you picked was a bit off their usual offerings but still, so good.
    I was asked to participate in a Top 10 album (Impossible for me). A could throw a couple Mac albums in that idea on any given day. God way to start the day. Thanks Max.

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    1. Anytime CB. I knew about them but got into them late…better late than never though! I saw that Peter Green doc Man of the World around 2 years before he passed…that really made me notice.
      Now I need to listen to the albums straight through and not just skip to song to song.

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      1. Ive pretty well listened to everything he’s done. Obb and I agree there are some missed turns but taking into account his health and other circumstances he has some very good later stuff. I have been listening to some of Spencers later work also.

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      2. That brings up something CB…I’ve never really listened to his solo stuff…thats going to be on my list this week.

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  13. Max, do you know that there is a soundtrack of what sounds like a Peter Green documentary in the background of your post? It’s interesting, but it makes it impossible to hear the YTs you have shared here.

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      2. lol…it’s happened to me before. I was going to take it off but someone else thanked me for posting it…so I’m going to post it on the post and take it off the comment.

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    1. I would also recommend that documentary Lisa…Yea his is a sad sad story Lisa. He made some great music and I agree with seeing too much.

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      1. Thanks for posting that documentary. Great. Really shows the power of his playing. It really encapsulates that whole era of British blues.

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      2. That is what got me into him the most. It’s very good and was done. Glad you liked it. I should have posted it on the post.

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  18. Pingback: Fleetwood Mac – Man of the World – MobsterTiger

  20. Don’t know a lot about Green or that version of FM but I can see why some have a preference for that period. Despite his struggles he certainly left quite the legacy for what appears to be a relatively small body of work.

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