I'll Make a Man Out of You

"I'll Make a Man Out of You" is a song composed by Matthew Wilder, with lyrics by David Zippel featured in the 1998 Disney film Mulan. The song is primarily performed by Donny Osmond as the singing voice of Captain Li Shang.
==Plot==
During the film, this song acts as a training montage. Trainees are shown failing at each drill or exercise—particularly Mulan, whose efforts are sabotaged by her bullying comrades and is eventually told to return home. However, in one last effort, Mulan uses her ingenuity to successfully complete the challenge of climbing up a vertically mounted log with heavy weights attached to each arm by using the tethered objects as a strap around the pole to aid in climbing. In doing so, she impresses her comrades and is allowed to stay. Her feat marks the beginning of improvement in all of the recruits, as well as gaining a new-found camaraderie. From this point on in the song, the individual recruits are shown excelling at tasks that had previously proved daunting. The group as a whole also progresses, exhibiting unity and coordination, where before disorder and confusion reigned. At the end, all the recruits have improved dramatically and successfully complete their training.
The song's title and lyrics are deliberately ironic in light of the fact that Mulan is a woman disguised as a man. It was also ironic in light of the fact that Li Shang and his group composed of freshly trained recruits only survived the war because Mulan (disguised as Ping) refused to heed her commanding officer's orders, using the cannon to trigger an avalanche which killed off nearly all of the Huns.
The irony is furthered in the film's climax where the song is reprised by an unseen choir when Yao, Ling, and Chien Po disguise themselves as concubines in order to fool the enemy Huns. Finally, it was through Mulan's strategies that they were able to save the Emperor from being slaughtered by Shan Yu.
==Lyrics==
<tabber>
First Version=
Shang: Let's get down to business
To defeat the Huns
Did they send me daughters
When I asked for sons?
You're the saddest bunch
I ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man out of you
Tranquil as a forest
But on fire within
Once you find your center
You are sure to win
You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot
And you haven't got a clue
Somehow I'll make a man out of you
Chien Po: I'm never gonna catch my breath
Yao: Say goodbye to those who knew me
Ling: Boy, was I fool in school for cutting gym
Mushu: [spoken] This guy's got 'em scared to death
Mulan: Hope he doesn't see right through me
Chien Po: Now I really wish that I knew how to swim
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: We must be swift as the coursing river
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: With all the force of a great typhoon
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
Time is racing toward us
Till the Huns arrive
Heed my every order
And you might survive
You're unsuited for
The rage of war
So pack up, go home, you're through
How could I make a man out of you?
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: We must be swift as the coursing river
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: With all the force of a great typhoon
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang and Chorus: With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang and Chorus: We must be swift as the coursing river
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang and Chorus: With all the force of a great typhoon
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang and Chorus: With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
|-|Chorus Reprise=
(Be a man)
We must be swift as the coursing river (Be a man)
With all the force of a great typhoon (Be a man)
With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
|-|Golden Mickeys version=
Shang: Let's get down to business
To defeat the Huns
Did they send me daughters
When I asked for sons?
You're the saddest bunch
I ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man out of you
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: We must be swift as the coursing river
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: With all the force of a great typhoon
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: We must be swift as the coursing river
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang: With all the force of a great typhoon
Chorus: (Be a man)
Shang and Chorus: With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon
(instrumental sequence)
</tabber>
==Gallery==
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4432.jpg|Yao failing.
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4437.jpg|Ling failing.
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4442.jpg|Chien-Po failing.
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4445.jpg|Mulan (aka Ping) failing.
Shang 25.PNG|"We've got a long way to go."
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4466.jpg|Yao about to hit "Ping" from behind.
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4471.jpg
Shang 26.PNG|"Let's get down to business..."
Be a Man 6.gif
Shang 27.PNG|"...to defeat the Huns!"
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 1.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 2.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 3.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4492.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 4.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 5.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 6.jpg
Mushufacepalm.jpg|Mushu facepalms at Mulan's disastrous training.
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 7.jpg
Shang 28.PNG|"You're the saddest bunch I've ever met..."
Shang 29.PNG|"...but you can bet..."
Shang 30.PNG|"...before we're through"
Shang 31.PNG
Shang 32.PNG|"Mister, I'll make a man..."
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4460.jpg
Shang 33.PNG|"...out of you."
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 8.jpg
Shang 34.PNG
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 9.jpg
Shang 35.PNG
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 10.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 11.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 12.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4484.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You.jpg|Mulan (aka Ping) smiling nervously at Shang
Shang 37.PNG
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4504.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4502.jpg
Shang 38.PNG
Shang 39.PNG
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4600.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4536.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4608.jpg|"I'm never gonna catch my breath"
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4615.jpg|"Say goodbye to those who knew me"
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 23.jpg
I'll Make a Man Out of You Clip Image 24.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4620.jpg|"Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym"
Shang 40.PNG
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4560.jpg|Mulan with a black eye.
Shang 41.PNG
Shang 42.PNG
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4631.jpg
Shang 43.PNG
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4723.jpg
Be a Man 2.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4688.jpg
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4693.jpg|Using her head
Shang 44.PNG|Shang walks out of his tent as the arrow is thrown to the ground.
Mulan-disneyscreencaps.com-4785.jpg
Be a Man 5.jpg
Be a Man 8.jpg|Mulan at the peak of her strength
Yao giving Mulan a fighting stick.jpg|Yao giving Mulan a fighting stick
Mulan-disneyscreencaps com-4832.jpg
==Videos==
I'll Make a Man Out of You (From "Mulan" Soundtrack)
DCappella - I'll Make a Man Out of You (Audio Only)
I'll Make a Man Out of You-2
Kerusu - I'll Make a Man Out of You (From "Lofi Minnie- Chill"-Visualizer Video)
【曲のみ】闘志を燃やせ from Disney Music Parade 【ミューパレ】
The Great Wall - Disney Speedstorm Original Game Soundtrack - Gameloft Barcelona
Stone Bend - Disney Speedstorm Original Game Soundtrack - Gameloft Barcelona
Zen Gardens - Disney Speedstorm Original Game Soundtrack - Gameloft Barcelona
Army Camp - Disney Speedstorm Original Game Soundtrack - Gameloft Barcelona
Return to the Village - Disney Speedstorm Original Game Soundtrack - Gameloft Barcelona
==Trivia==
*The lyrics "You must be as swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great Typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon" is similar to an excerpt by Sun Tzu in his treatise "The Art of War". The actual excerpt essentially reads "Swift as the wind, silent as the forest, fierce as the fire, and strong as the mountain."
*A bonus feature on the Mulan DVD features a music video of the song performed by Jackie Chan in Mandarin. Another variant is of the Cantonese version.
*The Mulan, Jr. version of the song attaches "Lesson Number One” from Mulan II to the bridge.
*The song was referenced in Marvel's comic "Don't Call Her the Cavalry" issue #1.
**Melinda May, the protagonist of the comic, is based on Ming-Na Wen's portrayal in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Wen was also the voice of Mulan.
*Out of all the tasks that the trainees failed at, the only one that didn't show them succeeding at is the one where they have to deflect the rocks with the Bō while balancing a bucket of water on their heads, probably due to its difficulty.
*While not sung in the 2020 remake, during the part where Mulan focuses on her chi, Commander Tung quotes a line from the song: "Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within", which is a reference to the song.
*The song is referenced in the Once Upon a Time episode "Lady of the Lake", by Mulan when she speaks to Emma and Mary Margret.
==External links==
*
Category:Songs
Category:Mulan songs
Category:Reprise
Category:Fantasmic songs
Category:Hero/Heroine songs
Category:Songs in Disney Sing Along Songs videos
Category:Group songs
Category:Songs in video games
Category:Disney Speedstorm songs
Category:Songs in theme park attractions