In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
She'll only come out at nights
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen her here before
Watching and waiting
Ooh, she's sitting with you but her eyes are on the door
So many have paid to see
What you think you're getting for free
The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar
Money's the matter
If you're in it for love
You ain't gonna get too far
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
I wouldn't if I were you
I know what she can do
She's deadly man, she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there but a beast is in the heart
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
Ooh
Oh, here she comes
Here she comes
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
Oh, here she comes
(Watch out)
She's a maneater
Oh, here she comes
(She's a maneater)
Ooh, she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
Here she comes, she's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
(Watch out)
She'll only come out at night, ooh
(Oh, here she comes)
Here she comes
She's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
(She's a maneater)
The woman is wild, ooh
(Oh, here she comes)
Here she comes
Watch out boy, watch out boy
(Oh, here she comes)
Oh, watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out
(Oh, here she's comes)
Yeah, yeah she's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
(She's a maneater)
She's watching and waiting, ooh
(Oh, here she comes)
Oh, she's a maneater
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen her here before
Watching and waiting
Ooh, she's sitting with you but her eyes are on the door
So many have paid to see
What you think you're getting for free
The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar
Money's the matter
If you're in it for love
You ain't gonna get too far
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
I wouldn't if I were you
I know what she can do
She's deadly man, she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there but a beast is in the heart
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
Ooh
Oh, here she comes
Here she comes
Watch out boy she'll chew you up
Oh, here she comes
(Watch out)
She's a maneater
Oh, here she comes
(She's a maneater)
Ooh, she'll chew you up
(Oh, here she comes)
Here she comes, she's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
(Watch out)
She'll only come out at night, ooh
(Oh, here she comes)
Here she comes
She's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
(She's a maneater)
The woman is wild, ooh
(Oh, here she comes)
Here she comes
Watch out boy, watch out boy
(Oh, here she comes)
Oh, watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out
(Oh, here she's comes)
Yeah, yeah she's a maneater
(Oh, here she comes)
(She's a maneater)
She's watching and waiting, ooh
(Oh, here she comes)
Oh, she's a maneater
Lyrics submitted by Boonechic_21
Maneater Lyrics as written by John Oates Sara Allen
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't think this is necessarily about prostitutes. Sure, the woman only comes out at night, and is attracted to men with money and expensive cars, but the song warns against love. I don't think most johns are "in it for love," they know what they're in it for when they get a hooker.
Instead I think it's about a gold digger woman. Someone who spends time with men, goes out on the town at night with various guys and charms them, but will only spend quality time with them if they have money. After all, "she's sitting with you but her eyes are on the door..." probably means she's sitting with a guy at a club or something on a date, but is always watching and waiting to see if a richer more desirable man comes in so she can ditch the guy she's with and go after bigger fish, hurting lots of feelings along the way.
This is a song about the rare (but more prevalent nowadays) female who used men for money and moved on without regard to ethics or consideration for the man's feelings. Back when this was written, this type of female wasn't the norm, hence the warning about the "maneater." However, during that same time period, MEN who behaved this way WERE the norm, but nobody called them "womaneaters," they were just guys. The only difference was instead of using women for MONEY and moving on, they used women for sex and moved on. They may have been sitting with you, but their eyes were on the door for a girl who was cuter than you that they could dump you for. But there was no need to write a SONG about it because it was very COMMON, and still is. It's just that NOW, more women are using men in return (but in different ways and for different reasons). But the lack of empathy and ethics is still the same either way. You could call the women "gold-diggers," and you could call the men "sex-diggers." They are both wrong.
Oates, who also recently disclosed that Hall & Oates’ ‘Rich Girl’ isn’t actually about a girl, went on to reveal that although it seems to be about a predatory woman, the duo’s 1982 smash ‘Maneater’ was really written about New York City. “‘Maneater’ is about NYC in the ’80s,” he explained. “It’s about greed, avarice, and spoiled riches. But we have it in the setting of a girl because it’s more relatable. It’s something that people can understand. That’s what we do all of the time.”
Read More: John Oates Reveals the Real Meaning Behind Hall & Oates' Hits | ultimateclassicrock.com/hall-oates-song-meaning/
This isn't about AIDS, because AIDS were basically unknown back when this song came out. And indeed this is a song about prostitutes.
great song. so true.
i used to go to this corner bar all the time and there was this one ridiculously gorgeous bartender that i used to talk to ... and eventually, we went out a few times, hung out, all that shit ... anyway, she totally dropped me like a bad habit after a few weeks ... and this song SO reminds me of her. just listening to the words it's like, i know there's going to be some other dude who rolls into that bar and guess what's going to happen?
watch out boy, she'll chew you up.
It's about a gold diggin hoe. Great freakin' beat, great lyrics. Great concept. Man music was good back then!
I think it's about a lady that is mean spirited toward men. She lures them in and then leaves them. Not a nice lady.
It's about an extremely narcissistic woman who has no love in her heart for men. She uses them and discards of them as quickly as she finds them. Any man sees she's beautiful or easy and that attracts the man, pulls him in from the feelings of lust and desire can easily turn into the prey falling in love with the Narcissist. Big Mistake. The Narcissist woman will chew you up and spit you out like you never mattered, she is a vampire, there are no real emotions or love that the narcissist knows or feels, she's totally within the grey. More of an entity than a woman. This is what the maneater is..Satan all dressed up!
Dang! I can't believe there are only TWO Hall and Oates songs. I'll have to remedy that fa' sho'. Anyway, this song works both ways fellas!
This song is clearly about the AIDS epidemic... Makes sense since Hall and Oates had a large homosexual following in the 80's...