 Man Down  is a " murder fantasy " reggae song with " Caribbean @-@ rhythms " and elements of ragga and electronic music . The song , in the key of C minor , have a tempo of 77 beats per minute . Rihanna 's voice spans more than one and a half octaves , from F3 to E ♭ 5 . Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani described " Man Down " as one of Rihanna 's " most confident vocal performances " with her strong Barbadian patois . Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that the singer " play up her West Indian accent " , and August Brown of the Los Angeles Times described the vocals as reasserting " her Caribbean lilted " . Entertainment Weekly writer Leah Greenblatt described " Man Down " as a song with " island rhythms " . Lyrically , Rihanna is a fugitive after she shoot a man , but later regret it . Rihanna slowly relay the chain of events which led up to the murder . She cry to her mother about the act that she have committed – " Mama , I just shot a man down " – expressing guilt and remorse for not meaning to kill her attacker , and that he is somebody 's son . As the track develop , Rihanna 's Bajan accent become stronger and exaggerated , which climax during the bridge as she declare " Why deed I pull dee treeguh , pull dee treeguh , pull dee treeguh , BOOM ! " MuuMuse writer Bradley Stern thought that the track took on a confessional tone .