"That's a Man" is a song written by

Mark D. Sanders Mark Daniel Sanders (born September 7, 1950) is an American country music songwriter. He has written 15 No. 1 hits, 50 singles, and over 200 cuts, including the famous Lee Ann Womack single "I Hope You Dance", co-written with Tia Sillers. Earl ...

, Ed Hill, and Steven Dale Jones and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singer Jack Ingram. It was released in October 2008 as the first single to Ingram’s album ''

Big Dreams & High Hopes ''Big Dreams & High Hopes'' is the eighth studio album by American country music singer Jack Ingram. It was released on August 25, 2009 via Big Machine Records as his third release for the label. The album includes the singles "That's a Man" (a ...

''. The song is Ingram's sixth Top 40 entry on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country charts.

Content

"That's a Man" is a mid-tempo mostly accompanied by

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

and

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...

. In it, the narrator describes three different men, citing each as an example of men that are committed to their lives and peers. The first verse focuses on a nineteen-year-old who works two jobs to raise a family; the second tells of two Marines who become friends while in combat until one of them is killed; and an old farmer who is trying to maintain his family's farm is described in the third.

Critical reception

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song a favorable review. He compared the song to Lee Roy Parnell's "roots-y country rock anthems about the common folks" such as 1993's "On the Road", adding " There’s a place on country radio for songs like “That’s A Man” and Ingram should be the man to take it." Jasper Jones of 411 Mania gave the song two-and-a-half out of five, saying that the song had a worthy concept but awkward lyrics.

Chart performance

References

{{Jack Ingram 2008 singles 2008 songs Jack Ingram songs Songs written by Ed Hill Songs written by Steven Dale Jones Songs written by Mark D. Sanders Big Machine Records singles Song recordings produced by Jeremy Stover