Sledge tells this story about the impetus for the song:
He was an orderly at the Colbert County Hospital during the days and a singer in an local band at night. One night he found he was so upset about a woman and a broken relationship that he couldn’t perform. His emotions got the better of him...
When a man loves a woman
Can't keep his mind on nothin' else
He'd change the world for the good thing he's found
If she is bad, he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend if he put her down
When a man loves a woman
He'll spend his very last dime
Tryin' to hold on to what he needs
He'd give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she said that's the way
It ought to be
Well, this man loves you, woman
I gave you everything I had
Tryin' to hold on to your heartless love
Baby, please don't treat me bad
When a man loves a woman
Down deep in his soul
She can bring him such misery
If she is playin' him for a fool
He's the last one to know
Lovin' eyes can never see
When a man loves a woman
He can do her no wrong
He can never want
Some other girl
Yes when a man loves a woman
I know exactly how he feels
Cause baby, baby, you're my world
When a man loves a woman...
When a Man Loves a Woman was written by Andrew Wright & Calvin Lewis.
When a Man Loves a Woman was produced by Quin Ivy & Marlin Greene.
Percy Sledge released When a Man Loves a Woman on Sat Apr 16 1966.
Sledge did not write the song, but the lyrics fit his situation perfectly after his girlfriend left him –
I didn’t have any money to go after her, so there was nothing I could do to try and get her back
Sourced here