Henry Abbott

While sitting on the quad on Thursday’s lovely, sunny afternoon, I was joined by a few good friends. I had already been listening to a diverse array of music (e.g. Air, N.E.R.D., JPEGMAFIA, Mac DeMarco, Kendrick Lamar, etc.), which made for a difficult task of choosing the best song to discuss.

After scrolling quite a bit through various playlists—and my gradually developing collection of “Liked Songs”—I came across the Percy Sledge classic: “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Starting with an organ and gentle percussion on a kit, the music keeps a simple rhythmic instrumentation to emphasize stronger elements of guitar and vocals. Throughout its duration, Sledge develops his song’s intensity and sound. The artist draws in horns, background “oohs” and affects the lyrics to mimic the emotional fluctuations that the narrator experiences.

I picked the brains of Anne-Sophie Kagan ’27—who I’ve interviewed before—and, drumroll, William Boice Churchill ’27. Evidently, I conducted the conversation in a focus group style, hoping that they would speak between themselves and, subsequently, share more personal, intimate thoughts. In a funny way, this method did work.

For first impressions, Will touched on what became a prevalent theme for the entirety of our interview: warmth.

“My grandmother used to listen to a lot of Al Green,” he stated, adding that Sledge’s song reminded him of her.

Anne-Sophie also really liked listening, and she was similarly led to a sense of nostalgia. She also noted how Sledge’s voice stood out to her and “was like an instrument on its own.” Essentially, the dynamics of all noise throughout the song strengthened its cohesion, which she felt was most apparent through Sledge’s “crooning vibe.” She added: “It felt almost like a memory, and like you’re kind of intruding on something big. He’s talking about this intimate moment with himself but also the act of loving someone enough to write a song about it.”

Both Anne-Sophie and Will felt that the song was “very like a yearn.”

When I asked my “subjects” what else they were reminded of while listening, they agreed on the sentiments and act of being in a kitchen with others.

Will told us: “I think this is the sort of thing I would play if I was with other people and trying to cultivate a sort of vibe.” He elaborated that while he wouldn’t necessarily listen to this music alone, he would certainly put it on in a social setting.

“When you feel the sun’s warmth on you, you do feel like there’s another presence with you,” Anne-Sophie observed. Later, she made another beautiful observation: “I think this is a song for the sunshine. I think you get the same vibe from the sun that you get from the kitchen. There’s just this warmth that covers you when you eat good food and also when you experience being outside.”

Will excitedly caught onto this, deciding that the sun and cooking create a Venn diagram, intersecting through music.

During the focus group experiment, I maintained little involvement besides slipping occasional prompts in. Nevertheless, I found myself in frequent agreement with the comments established and inquiries proposed by Anne-Sophie and Will. Interestingly enough, I actually do listen to this sort of music while cooking, especially on weekend mornings at home. The calm yet passionate essence of Percy Sledge’s song elicits an enveloping sensation throughout the body. In the like-minded tone of Saturday pancakes or hugging an old friend, “When a Man Loves a Woman” follows a theme of powerful, steady, unabashed admiration.

And, as Anne-Sophie recognized earlier, the sole existence of the song exhibits a commitment to not only submitting to the subjectivity of love but also choosing to want and appreciate human connection.