About
Written by Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers and journalist Adrian Deevoy, Handsome Man delivers one of the most tongue-in-cheek moments on Escapology. Built around bold brass, swaggering guitars and a chorus dripping with irony, the song is a parody of the public image Williams had cultivated — arrogant, overconfident and untouchable. Beneath the bravado, however, lies a knowing self-portrait of insecurity and performance.
The track began as a playful studio experiment after Williams joked about writing a song called “The World’s Most Handsome Man.” Its verses mock celebrity excess and media caricature — “It’s hard to be humble when you’re so f***ing big” — while the chorus confesses, “If you drop me, I’ll fall to pieces on you, if you don’t need me, I don’t exist.” The juxtaposition reveals the fragile ego behind the rock-star façade.
People think I’m arrogant and cocky, but this song’s me taking the piss out of that idea. Underneath it all, it’s saying the opposite — that I need love and validation like anyone else.Robbie Williams
Williams recorded his vocal in complete darkness, stripping away any artifice before the lights came up to reveal he had sung the take naked. The result is a performance full of confidence and humour, layered with self-awareness. Handsome Man stands as one of the sharpest examples of Williams’ ability to merge comedy and confession — a witty send-up of fame that exposes the vulnerability it hides.
Lyrics
I know I'm hard to resist
Y'all can come and help me pick the sweet corn out of this
It's hard to be humble
When you're so fucking big
Did you ever meet a sexier male chauvinist pig
I'm gonna milk it till I turn it into cheese
Tell your babes in arms and OAP's
Come take a piece of me
If you drop me I'll fall to pieces on you
If you don't see me I don't exist
It's nice to meet you
Now let me go and wash my hands
Cause you just met the world's most handsome man
The world's most handsome man
Y'all know who I am
I'm still the boy next door
That's if you're Lord Litchfield and Roger Moore
If I've gone up in the world
Or is the world gone down on me
I'm the one who put the Brits in celebrity
Give in and love it
What's the point in hating me
You can't argue with popularity
Well you could
But you'd be wrong
If you drop me I'll fall to pieces on you
If you don't need me I don't exist
You voted for me
Now let me see a show of hands
Keeping for your stands
Can you make me laugh and sign this autograph
Though it's not for me
Flip a grin, shake a thing, name a shame
Then I'm out of here
It's not very complicated
I'm just young and overrated
Please don't drop me I'll fall to pieces on you
If you don't see me I don't exist
It's nice to meet you
Now let me go and wash my hands
Cause you just met the world's most handsome man
Keeping for your stands
Please don't drop me I'll fall to pieces on you
If you don't need me I don't exist
It's nice to meet you
Now let me go and wash my hands
Cause you just met the world's most handsome man
The world's most handsome man
The world's most handsome man
The world's most handsome man
Credits
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Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers, Adrian Deevoy