#BoTB: I'm Waiting For The Man (Bowie vs. Wee Cherubs)

The original: The Velvet Underground
Written by: Lou Reed
Original release: 1967, debut album ( The Velvet Underground & Nico )
Cool trivia: Also released as Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground in 1971 (with There She Goes Again  on the B side)


Andy Warhol footage of Velvet Underground rehearsals (c. 1966)


The Battle Contenders



David Bowie recorded several versions of this song: with The Riot Squad, in the Live: Santa Monica '72 album (this version is the one used for the movie Almost Famous -- which, if you haven't seen, you absolutely must), and one performance during the 1976 Isolar tour made it into the Live Nassau Coliseum '76 collection.

(P.S. -- Would you help us non-native English speakers here settle an issue? Is it Bowie as in take a bow? or as in bow and arrow? Thanks!)




A very different version from The Wee Cherubs (UK, 1984). I'd never heard this one before. Very curious to hear your thoughts on it.

~ * ~

I'm waiting for my man
Twenty-six dollars in my hand
Up to Lexington, 125
Feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive
I'm waiting for my man

Hey white boy, what you doin' uptown?
Hey white boy, you chasin' our women around?
Oh, pardon me, sir, it's the furthest from my mind
I'm just lookin' for a dear, dear friend of mine
I'm waiting for my man

Here he comes, he's all dressed in black
PR shoes and a big straw hat
He's never early, he's always late
First thing you learn is you always got to wait
I'm waiting for my man

Up to a Brownstone, up three flights of stairs
Everybody's pinned you but nobody cares
He's got the works, gives you sweet taste
Ah, then you got to split because you got no time to waste
I'm waiting for my man

Baby, don't you holler, darlin', don't you bawl and shout
I'm feeling good, you know I'm going to work it out
I'm feeling good, I'm feeling oh so fine
Until tomorrow, but that's just some other time
I'm waiting for my man

I'm walking home


Actually, I'm walking hopping off to visit the other battles at

STMcC Presents 'Battle of The Bands'Far Away SeriesDebbie D. ("Doglady")Holli's Hoots and HollersYour Daily DoseAlex CavanaughTossing It OutMike's RamblingsJingle Jangle JungleCurious as a CathyCherdo on the FlipsideThe Sound of One Hand TypingWomen: We Shall OvercomeJ. A. ScottBook LoverAngels Barkdcrelief ~ Battle of The BandsNovelBrews

So. Bowie or Wee Cherubs? Who does it better? Vote in the comments, get into the ins and outs of why one version is better (or worse) than another if you feel like it, and come back on the 21st to check the results. In the meantime, happy weekend!