History of Man (song)

"History of Man" is a song by English singer-songwriter Maisie Peters released as the fifteenth (and final) song on her sophomore album The Good Witch. Peters released her second album The Good Witch on 23 June 2023, which debuted at #1 on the UK charts. "History of Man" was written during a week long session at Decoy Studios in Suffolk along with three other songs on the album: "Wendy," Want You Back," and "BSC."

As part of the promotion for the album, Peters posted illustrated tarot cards on her social media, each representing a different song on the album. The tarot card for "History of Man" shows an illustrated anatomical heart with the song lyric "Women's hearts are lethal weapons" above and the title and track number below.

Peters describes "History of Man" as "Jo March coded," as Jo March's character in Little Woman made a lot of the same points the song makes, specifically during her monologue on the complexities of women where she says, "Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for."

Composition and lyrics
The song was written and composed by Peters and Joe Rubel, and is categorized under the pop genre. Throughout the song Peters makes a number of historical references in order to compare her own heartbreak scenario to others throughout history. One of the lines of the song reads, "So Samson blamed Delilah, but given half the chance I would have made him weaker too." This refers to the story from the Old Testament where Samson is has been given superhuman powers by God, which lives in his hair. Samson reveals this to his love Delilah who then has his hair cut off. In this lyric Peters seems to imply that under Delilah's circumstances she may have also done the same thing. In the bridge of the song Peters sings, "He stole her youth and promised heaven. The men start wars yet Troy hates Helen." Peter's posted a video on social media reflecting on what these lyrics mean where she said "Essentially it's about how traditionally Helen of Troy is portrayed as this evil temptress who ran off with Paris of Troy away from her husband Menelaus and home in Sparta, prompting a huge war that killed thousands of ancient Greeks. However, in more recent interpretations, she can be seen as someone who was captured and held at the mercy of the whims of these men, forced away from her home in Sparta and made to live in Troy, where she knew no one, had no one. Sparta saw her as a traitor, Troy saw her as a witch who'd ignited a war, and Helen was ultimately blamed for the actions of greedy and selfish men. The history of man one could say." Peters also makes references to the origins of honey, the walls of Jericho, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as Easter Island, sirens, and Adam and Eve in the song.

Critical reception
Overall reception of The Good Witch and History of Man was positive. One reviewer wrote, "Peters has a fun side, but her creativity is evident in places like closer 'History of Man,' which boasts topics most pop stars wouldn’t even think to write about, going back through history and discussing the gender differences between powerful men and women." Another reviewer refers to History of Man as "the most powerful track on this record. It’s hard to believe at 23 Peters’ has so poetically captured the plague of heartbreak and love. The differences between men and women and how our differences lead to so much strife. For as long as stories have been told, men have been the ones to leave when things get hard and women have been the ones that do everything they can to make it work."

Personnel
Source:

Composition and lyrics

 * Maisie Peters – Songwriter
 * Joe Rubel – Songwriter

Production and engineering

 * Joe Rubel – Producer, Engineer
 * Gab Strum – Engineer
 * Robert Sellens – Engineer
 * Mark "Spike" Stent – Mixing Engineer
 * Matt Wolach – Assistant Mixing Engineer
 * Jamie McEvoy – Engineer
 * Stuart Hawkes – Mastering Engineer
 * Tris Ellis – Assistant Engineer