'He's a Man' is a song from Tim J Spencer's musical 'Rising Sun'. The song is sung by Abby as she explains why she's in love with one of guards of the Japanese Prisoner-of-War camp which is the setting for the musical. Abby sings of a time before the war when he was her 'everything' and despite the current situation she can't just switch that off. The song is performed here by Rachael Coe, and is featured in the Tim Spencer Songbook, a collection of Audition Pieces for Musical Theatre Performers.
Lyrics
In his eyes he still has dreams of thunder
Behind his skin he’s the same as them or me
But this war now divides us
And our dreams have passed behind us
And the souls we once knew long to breathe
He’s a man like any other man
He’s a memory of a time
A life we left behind
In a world we used to share
And though here the rules have boundaries
My feelings can’t subside
He’s here and he’s the only one who’s ever known my life
When I came he was there to hold me
In a life which was far from what I knew
And the nights I still remember
Watching sunsets through the haze
Distant music playing softly through the breeze
He’s a man like any other man
He’s a memory of a time
A life we left behind
In a world we used to share
And though here the rules have boundaries
My feelings can’t subside
He’s here and he’s the only one who’s ever known my life
It’s my life I make the rules here and I break them
Here in a world with no hope of ever seeing dawn in June
After all they’ve no idea of my history
Why are they first, first to condemn
Not knowing me and not knowing him
He’s a man like any other man
He’s a memory of a time
A life we left behind
In a world we used to share
And though here the rules have boundaries
My feelings can’t subside
Let them scorn hate my soul
I can’t play another role for someone
He’s here
And he’s the only one who’s ever known my life
My life