Men at Work had a knack for couching some dark themes inside songs that sounded like good-time hits. They did just that with “Who Can It Be Now?,” their debut U.S. single which made it all the way to the top of the pop charts in 1982.
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What is the song about? What inspired Men at Work lead singer Colin Hay to write it? And how did the saxophone part by Greg Ham enter the picture? Here is the story and meaning behind “Who Can It Be Now?,” one of the most distinctive hit singles of the early ’80s.
“Work” Release
Call it the second British Invasion, the British new wave, or the new romantics. Whatever the case, a ton of up-and-coming British pop acts hit U.S. shores with a wave of hit singles in the first half of the ’80s. Yet Australia’s Men at Work beat a lot of those bands to the punch, and “Who Can It Be Now?” provided the impetus for that success.
Colin Hay had the music in place as early as 1979, which was only about a year or so after Men at Work formed with Hay, Ron Strykert, and Jerry Speiser. Greg Ham joined not long after. Hay wrote the music while in a tree house of all places, but the words didn’t come for a while.
The band first recorded the song as a single in Australia, but went back and polished it up once they had a major label deal. Greg Ham added not only the iconic sax riff at the start of the song, but also the stuttering solo in the middle. The solo came about when producer Peter Mclan asked for a guide part, and Ham delivered the entire thing as it would be heard on the record. Those parts gave the song an almost funky feel, which helped to hide the somewhat dangerous origins of the lyrics.
Guess “Who”?
Colin Hay was living for a time in St. Kilda, Victoria, in Australia. At the time, it was a home for all kinds of people living lifestyles somewhat removed from the typical workday grind. That included musicians. But, as Hay told The AV Club, it also included some folks living outside the law, which caused his apartment to occasionally receive some unwanted visitors:
“There were some people living next door who were moving a bit of product. Mistakes were made, and people would knock on our door looking for some kind of stimulant, and we didn’t have it. You were always hearing people banging on other people’s doors. We had one of those little spy holes, and I was always creeping toward the door when someone was knocking, to see who it was. I was never sure I wanted to open the door.”
Hay also meant the song to reveal some of his concerns about where he was in his career. He was unsure if he could give anybody quite what they wanted, which included record executives. Luckily, with “Who Can It Be Now?,” he and his band delivered in the grandest way possible.
What is the Meaning of “Who Can It Be Now?”
“Who Can It Be Now?” certainly pays a lot of attention to the unsavory folks darkening this poor fellow’s door. But it also hints at his own psychological torment throughout the lyrics. In the first verse, Hay sings, I’m very tired, and I’m not feeling right. Then, later: Best off if you hand outside / Don’t come in, I’ll only run and hide.
When he sings, There’s nothing wrong with my state of mental health, we think he doth protest too much. Hanging out with his childhood friend, he certainly seems to be undergoing a bit of a breakdown. By the end of the song, his whole reality seems to be collapsing all around him: It’s not the future that I can see / It’s just my fantasy.
It’s understandable if you missed a lot of the undertones of this song the first time around, what with the peppy, catchy music at the forefront (as well as Hay’s comic persona in the popular video). But “Who Can It Be Now?” is actually that rare hit single that dwells in the seedy underbelly of life, regardless of its outward shiny surfaces.
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Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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