https://soundcloud.com/quartus-2/the-mans-too-strong
On the Dire Straights album “Brothers in Arms”, The Man’s Too Strong is one of three songs with a military theme. The other two are Ride Across The River and Brothers In Arms.
The lyrics talk of a soldier – may be a mercenary or a war criminal – who is making a confession of his guilt and fear.
In an interview that appears in a book, “Written in my soul” by Bill Flanagan Knopfler explained the lyrics:
On “The Man’s Too Strong” [Brothers in Arms], I tried to do a study in guilt and hatred and fear. On some levels, you can almost see a Hess-like figure, in the depths of Spandau. You might see somebody who’s just not at peace with himself. It’s always interesting to me that any kind of heavy censorship, like book burnings, has always failed in the long run. That kind of suppression. I was just trying to get in the mind of somebody who’s lived his life that way. There’s nothing very heavy about it, it’s just an experiment in character and playwriting. That song is absolutely not me. It’s like Randy Newman talking about being a closet gay truck driver.
This cover version was recorded by Quartus with “light” use of the Beatbuddy.