WATCH: Sabrina Carpenter Drops Eccentric, Wild West-Inspired Music Video for Her Stellar New Country-Pop Single, ‘Manchild’
By Maxim Mower
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Sabrina Carpenter is once again dipping her toes into the world of country music, with the ‘Espresso’ hitmaker today (June 6th) releasing an irresistible new single, ‘Manchild’.
Teased throughout the week with enigmatic billboards, ‘Manchild’ seemingly serves as the first ‘Taste’ we've been given of Carpenter's keenly awaited Short N’ Sweet follow-up.
‘Manchild’ blurs the lines between synth-pop and country, with Sabrina Carpenter's signature enchanting vocals floating breezily across a hazy, sumptuous instrumental.
The Pennsylvania native has accompanied the infectious new single with a cinematic set of visuals, which find Sabrina Carpenter playfully stepping into the role of a hitch-hiker who ends up riding alongside a dizzying array of bizarre and eccentric men.
It's incredible that they've managed to compress the various vignettes and sub-plots into one three-minute video, with the rip-roaring visuals jumping from one wacky situation to the next. In one scene, we see Sabrina Carpenter being held at gunpoint, and in another equally as fleeting shot, she is playfully waving goodbye to an old flame, before the man proceeds to drive straight off the edge of a cliff.
The magic of the ‘Manchild’ video lies in all the weird and wonderful easter eggs and hidden gems Sabrina Carpenter and the directors, Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, have sprinkled into the video. There are a plethora of David Lynch-esque oddities you most likely won't spot until the third or fourth watch, whether it be the truck dangling in the telephone wires, Carpenter's use of a fork as a cigarette-holder or the point where she plays a fairground claw machine to win a fish.
The Wild West-inspired ambience that pervades the ‘Manchild’ music video accentuates Sabrina Carpenter's flirtation with country, having collaborated with Dolly Parton earlier in the year for a remix to her hit single, ‘Please, Please, Please’. Elsewhere on Short N’ Sweet, Carpenter crafted a strikingly intricate country ode, ‘Slim Pickins’.
The country world has been reciprocating her affection, with Zach Bryan sharing a clip of him singing along to ‘Please, Please, Please’ and Ian Munsick regularly covering ‘Espresso’ during his live shows. Just last night, Lukas Nelson and Eric Church surprised the crowd in Nashville to a stellar rendition of ‘Please, Please, Please’.
Inevitably, the focus surrounding ‘Manchild’ so far has revolved largely around fan-based speculation as to whether the song was written about Carpenter's ex, Barry Keoghan.
Conversely, our attention has been grabbed by the subtle countrifications that are peppered throughout both the song and the striking visuals. Sabrina Carpenter's latest summer earworm has us hoping there's a full-blown country album on the horizon.
For the full lyrics to Sabrina Carpenter's new song, ‘Manchild’, see below:
“Oh, boy
You said your phone was broken, just forgot to charge it
Whole outfit you're wearing, God, I hope it's ironic
Did you just say you're finished? Didn't know we started
It's all just so familiar, baby, what do you call it?
-
Stupid
Or is it slow?
Maybe it's useless
But there's a cuter word for it, I know
-
Man-child
Why you always come a-running to me?
Fuck my life
Won't you let an innocent woman be?
Never heard of self-care
Half your brain just ain't there
Man-child
Why you always come a-running, taking all my loving from me?
-
Why so sexy if so dumb?
And how survive the Earth so long?
If I'm not there, it won't get done
I choose to blame your mom
-
Man-child
Why you always come a-running to me?
Fuck my life
Won't you let an innocent woman be?
Never heard of self-care
Half your brain just ain't there
Man-child
Why you always come a-running, taking all my loving from me?
-
Oh, I like my boys playing hard to get
And I like my men all incompetent
And I swear they choose me, I'm not choosing them
Amen, hey, men
Oh, I like my boys playing hard to get (Play hard to get)
And I like my men all incompetent (Incompetent)
And I swear they choose me, I'm not choosing them (Not choosing them)
Amen (Amen), hey, men (Hey, men)
-
Man-child
Why you always come a-running to me? (Always come a-running to me)
Fuck my life
Won't you let an innocent woman be? (Amen)
-
Oh, I like my boys playing hard to get (Play hard to get)
And I like my men all incompetent (Incompetent)
And I swear they choose me, I'm not choosing them (Not choosing them)
Amen (Amen), hey, men (Hey, men)”
For more on Sabrina Carpenter, see below:
