When did you and Daryl start writing “Maneater”? And that is really what the song is truly about. New York City became the maneater, the city that would chew you up and spit you out. So, what we did was we transpose that initial idea and use New York City in the ’80s as a metaphor. But neither Daryl nor I wanted to write a song that was anti-women or negative toward women. It was the juxtaposition of this great beauty with this foul mouth that really kind of sparked an idea to me that she would chew you up and spit you out. I got the idea for the song because there was a woman who was very - she was beautiful but had a very foul, you know, vocabulary. Well, it was about New York City, after the fact. There are lots of rumors, but I have to ask, is “Maneater” really about a woman or New York City? We discussed the literal meaning of the chorus, whether he knows any actual maneaters and from where his gift of songwriting might originate. We caught up with one half of the duo, John Oates, to ask him about the origin of the song and the meaning behind the song’s subject. But what, exactly, does he mean? What is a maneater?

“Watch out boy, she’ll chew you up,” he tells us.

Hall describes a character worth steering clear of - the maneater. Next, Daryl Hall’s voice sparks up, beginning the first verse. It’s a bit of an odd introduction but soft keyboards, a bright guitar and a crooning saxophone melody quickly follow the bass. “Maneater” begins with a bouncy bass line that immediately offers energy and joy. Nevertheless, the idea of danger runs throughout the track’s lyrics. The idea of a “maneater” is, in the end, cartoonish, of course. While the concept of the song on paper is dark and bleak, the song itself reads as more playful than film noir.

To date, the track has more than 130 million views on YouTube. Learn more at Patreon.Released on the duo’s 1982 record, H 2 O, “Maneater” is certainly one of the most well-known Hall & Oates songs of all time. There are a bunch of exclusive perks only for patrons: playlists, newsletters, downloads, discussions, polls - hell, tell us what song you would like to hear covered and we will make it happen. Cover Me is now on Patreon! If you love cover songs, we hope you will consider supporting us there with a small monthly subscription. The visuals match nicely, looking like a late ’60s Italian horror movie.Ĭheck out more Romeo + Juliet on their website or on Bandcamp. The track has a similar feel to Lee Hazelwood’s collaborations with Nancy Sinatra and would fit in well on a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. Check out their video, released last fall, below. Newfound respect possibly, although they are still top contenders for the cheesiest looking band of all time.Īnother Hall & Oates cover has appeared on the Cover Me radar, courtesy of the band Romeo + Juliet, a cross-country psychedelic rock duo from Seattle and Pittsburgh. The Bird and the Bee even recorded an entire album of Hall & Oates songs last year with the somewhat tongue-in-cheek title Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates. Well, the ’80s revival has not only brought us the return of Casio keyboards and the TR-808 drum machine, but a reevaluation of the much maligned duo. During their heyday in the early ’80s, Hall & Oates were scorned by many, seen as purveyors of a crass commercial product and symbolizing the death of music as an art form.

Hall oates maneater