About The Song
Country music superstar Shania Twain laid down the law for men in her song “Any Man Of Mine” – at least when it comes to exactly “what a woman wants.”
Released in 1995 as the second single off her highly successful album The Woman in Me, the song became Twain’s first No. 1 hit at country radio and was her second crossover hit as it cracked the top 40 on the pop chart.
The feisty song also proved to be a critical success, helping Twain earn Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance nominations during the 1996 Grammy Awards. It took home Single of the Year at both the Canadian Country Music Awards and Country Music Radio Awards in 1995. “Any Man of Mine” also won Country Single of the Year at the 1996 Jukebox Awards as well as Song of the Year during the 1996 RPM Big Country Music Awards.
Written by Shania Twain with her then-husband and producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, “Any Man of Mine” serves as a proper guideline for men to abide by in order to keep their women happy.
“Any man of mine better walk the line. Better show me a teasin’ squeezin’ pleasin’ kinda time. I need a man who knows how the story goes. He’s gotta be a heartbeatin’ fire breathin’. Breathtakin’ earthquakin’ kind. Any man of mine,” the song goes.
“This song reads like a book of rules for the men in our lives. It’s not too hard on you guys, but it’s a very good set of words to live by,” Twain said during her live performance in Chicago years back.
The female anthem was also accompanied by an eye-poppin’, heart-stoppin’ music video. The short clip was shot on a ranch in Santa Ynez, California, which made the video’s country theme even more prominent.
Twain’s famed midriff was also on full display as she danced around in jeans and a jean-vest. But did you know that some of the clip’s original footage was reportedly too racy for the record label? Yes, Twain’s entrance into country music caused some ripples of controversy.
Nonetheless, the finished product helped Twain win the fans and score her first hit. “Any Man of Mine” also won the Canadian Country Music Award for Video of the Year, Online Music Award for Hottest Country Video by AOL, and Video of the Year from CMT Europe.
After all, Twain finds “Any Man of Mine” as “a risky song to release.”
“At the time, a lot of people were afraid of it. It was way too edgy for what was going on. Everybody was kind of leery about releasing it,” Twain recalled. “And I remember when I went on the radio tour to introduce all this new music, it was so amazing getting a reaction to that song. Some people just loved it. They just fell in love with it right away. And other people, it really did scare. I don’t know whether they just didn’t like it or whether they thought, ‘Whoa!’”
Still, she calls “Any Man of Mine” her career song. “That’s the song I think that really, really broke me in a big way because it was so different,” she said.
Video
Lyrics
This is what a woman wants
Any man of mine better be proud of me
Even when I’m ugly, he still better love me
And I can be late for a date that’s fine
But he better be on time
Any man of mine’ll say it fits just right
When last year’s dress is just a little too tight
And anything I do or say better be okay
When I have a bad hair day
And if I change my mind
A million times
I want to hear him say
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah, I like it that way
Any man of mine better walk the line
Better show me a teasin’ squeezin’ pleasin’ kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He’s gotta be a heartbeatin’ fine treatin’
Breathtakin’ earthquakin’ kind
Any man of mine
Well any man of mine better disagree
When I say another woman’s lookin’ better than me
And when I cook him dinner and I burn it black
He better say, mm, I like it like that, yeah
And if I change my mind
A million times
I want to hear him say
Yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah I like it that way
Any man of mine better walk the line
Better show me a teasin’ squeezin’ pleasin’ kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He’s gotta be a heartbeatin’ fine treatin’
Breathtakin’ earthquakin’ kind
Any man of mine, woo
Let me hear you say yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)
Yeah, I like it that way
any man of mine better walk the line
Better show me a teasin’ squeezin’ pleasin’ kinda time
I need a man who knows, how the story goes
He’s gotta be a heartbeatin’ fine treatin’
Breathtakin’ earthquakin’ kind
Any man of mine
Ooh, ah
Woo
Ooh, ah
You gotta shimmy shake
Make the earth quake
Kick, turn, stomp, stomp, then you jump
Heel to toe, do si do
‘Til your boots want to break
‘Til your feet and your back ache
Keep it movin’ ’til you just can’t take anymore
Come on everybody on the floor
One two, a-three four
Hup, two, hup, woo
Mmhmm
If you want to be a man of mine, that’s right, woo
This is what a woman wants