Ben Aubergine – The Man’s Always Getting Me Down (2025)
Shaping his music with a constant exploration of life in its totality – from the innocence of youth to the profoundness of adulthood – Ben Aubergine allows us to page through his musical diary entries, finding clarity, connection, and a complete “oh yeah, I totally relate” sentiment. We came across the US-based musician last year with his single, ‘Spoke For What I Knew’ – a timeless track wading through the complexities of human relationships. Join us as we delve into Aubergine’s new track, ‘The Man’s Always Getting Me Down’.
A song about adulting – from the opening verse to the closing note – ‘The Man’s Always Getting Me Down’ is a soundtrack of existential truth. It explores the grittier side of reality, moving away from the sunshine and daisies to raw facts and how we’re merely a cog in the rat-race machine. Aubergine explains:
“I wrote ‘The Man’s Always Getting Me Down’ in 1998. I was 19 years old, just beginning to navigate the world as an adult, and starting to notice how much of everyday life is shaped by things you never consider as a kid: taxes, fees, surcharges and penalties. Everyone has their hand out. None of it feels dramatic enough to merit a protest, but it all adds up, and the song came directly from that realisation… As I have aged, the song’s meaning has expanded for me… It has become about time, energy and obligation. It is about how much of the self gets carved away by systems, expectations, and routines in our lives…”
Originally written for the acoustic guitar, ‘The Man’s Always Getting Me Down’ began as a direction conversation with the innocent adolescent seeing the crush of adulthood for the first time. This version, almost 30 years later, has a nostalgic folk-rock tone reminiscent of acts in the 1970s. Interestingly, while the lurking feeling of anger, disappointment, and a “oh, for bloody sake, not another bill!” exists, ‘The Man’s Always Getting Me Down’ has a charming, sing-along, toe-tapping nature that allows you take a deep breath of relief from this taxing reality. For me, this is a life soundtrack; not a manifesto for change, but the acknowledgement of being… and I love it.
Find out more about Ben Aubergine on his official website, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, Soundcloud, YouTube and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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