The Man Who Would Be King

Info

The Man Who Would Be King (or simply Man Who Would Be King) is track #4 on The Libertines' second album, The Libertines. The track is credited to Doherty and Barat, and was first heard by fans when a rough demo version was recorded by The Libertines, in May 2003, during their Babyshambles sessions. It is thought that "The Man Who Would Be King" was the only track recorded during the 3 CD sessions that featured Libertines bass player John Hassall. As well as being played with The Libertines, the song has occasionally been played live by Doherty’s current band, Babyshambles.

The Man Who Would Be King takes its title from a short story by Rudyard Kipling. The story was also the inspiration behind the 1975 film of the same name starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine, the theme of which was friendship.

The song is linked with the Libertines debut album, Up The Bracket 's Tell the King; both songs begin the same way, with the same rhythm on drums and chords on guitars. You can also hear Barat saying on "The Man Who Would Be King" the sentence "Another secret for ya" in reference to the sentence "I've got a little secret for ya" he says in Tell the King.

Appearing on

The Libertines	The Libertines	Album	2004-08-30
Babyshambles Sessions	The Libertines	Session	2003-05
Monitor Mixes	The Libertines	Session	2003
Conversations in Eden (& Flophouse)	Peter Doherty	Session	Unknown

Concerts

AB brussels 2016	The Libertines	Ancienne Belgique, Brussels	2016-05-03
Live @ Olympia	The Libertines	Music Hall, Paris	2016-03-09
Uebel & Gefährlich	Carl Barat	Hamburg	2010-11-01
Rescue Rooms (1)	Carl Barat	Nottingham	2010-10-18
Glastonbury	Carl Barat	Leftfield Tent	2010-06-25
Roundhouse, Camden	Peter Doherty	Camden Roundhouse, London	2009-09-19
Paleo Festival	Peter Doherty	Paleo Festival, Nyon, Swiss	2009-07-24
Eurockéennes de Belfort	Peter Doherty	Malsaucy, France	2009-07-04
Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline	Carl Barat	Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline	2009-06-09
Popscene San Franscisco	Carl Barat	San Franscisco, US	2009-01-08
Brick Lane Festival	Peter Doherty		2004-09-12
Rhythm Factory	Peter Doherty	London (Whitechapel), UK	2004-07-13
Piss Me Off (At the Rhythm Factory)	The Libertines	London (Whitechapel), UK	2004-04-14

Lyrics

Another secret for ya
I've been told if you want to make it in this game
You got to have the luck
You got to have the look

To make what I quite like to make it through the night
My heart beats slow fast, I dont feel right
With a sleight of hand I might die
What about you over there?
Don't you think I care?
Well I know you know I know you know I know
And to the man who would be king
I would say only one thing
And to the man who would be king
I will say only one thing
la la la-la-la-laa la la la-la-la-laa

I lived my dreams today
And I have lived it yesterday

And I'll have lived it tomorrow
No don't look at me that way
Well I hear the words you say...
But my heart has gone astray
I watched friendship slip away
But it wasn't s'posed to be that way
I lived my dreams today I lived it yesterday
And I'll be living yours tomorrow
Anything else to say?
I lived my dream today I lived it yesterday
And I'll be living yours tomorrow
So don't look at me that way!
What's about you man, Nancy my dear
What's about you man, Nancy my dear
What's about you man, Nancy my dear

What will you do when she comes here?
Oh she'll kill me
Oh, I don't wanna kill me
And to the man who would be king
I would say only one thing
And to the man who would be king
I would say only one thing
la la la-la-la-laa la la la-la-la-laa
Perish the day when they heed what you say
They'll take you away if they don't like what you say
They don't like what you say

So come what may but I'll never stay