Man Called Sun

Song infobox
Name = Man Called Sun


Artist = The Verve
Album = Verve EP
Released = December 7, 1992
track_no = 2
Recorded = 1992
Genre = Psychedelic rock, Space rock
Length = 5:35
Writer = The Verve
Label = Hut Recordings
Producer = Paul Schroeder
Chart position =

"Man Called Sun" (also referred to as "A Man Called Sun") is a song by psychedelic/shoegaze band Verve, from their 1992 self-titled EP. It stands as one of the most representative songs of their early phase.

Lyrics

Like most of the band's other early-1990s songs, the lyrics make many allusions to drugs, particularly hallucinogens.

He lifts you up, he shines
And then he's gone
But you know you need him
More when he's gone
I'm walking with a man called Sun
I think my journey's just begun
Shine, shine, shine, shine...

There is a swirling, chiming guitar part, playing licks reminiscent of the jam session in the second half of the previous track, "Gravity Grave". The song is quite bare, with simple drums and a light use of bass; Ashcroft's vocals are delivered in an urgent whisper. The hypnotic, pulsating bass line rarely changes throughout the song. Heavy usage of reverb and delay color the entire song.

Role in live performances

The song was consistently played by the band, from the "Gravity Grave Tour" of 1992, all the way to the "Urban Hymns Tour" of 1997/1998. In 1992, when promoting their first single "All in the Mind" in the USA, they played the song on the back of a truck around Manhattan.Fact|date=February 2007 In fact, it was the oldest of the band's songs (by three years) to have been played on the latter tour.It was normally played within the first few numbers that the band performed at each gig.

Influence

The name of the song is generally acknowledged to have been the inspiration for the name of fellow 1990's British rock group Mansun, who merely abbreviated the phrase. However, it is said that they originally went by the name Manson, so the Verve connection has been disputed, though their singer took a lot of vocal styling cues from Verve's singer Richard Ashcroft.