John Ondrasik was born in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. He grew up there in a musical family, with his mother teaching him the piano from the age of two. As a teenager, he learned how to play the guitar as well and started to write music. While he also learned to sing opera briefly, he quickly decided that he would like to be a piano playing popular musician along the lines of Elton John and Billy Joel. Ondrasik adopted the name "Five for Fighting" which is an expression in ice hockey when a player is sent from the rink by the referee for a major penalty. The name was used for the reason that it would be more memorable than his real name.
In 1997, his first album, 'Message for Albert', was released by EMI. Although not quite breaking through commercially, fans of modern singer-songwriter music provided a warm audience for Ondrasik. After the success of 'America Town', Capitol Records re-released this debut album to give it a more mainstream audience.
In 2000, Ondrasik signed with the aforementioned Columbia Records and released 'America Town' on September 26, 2000. At first, it made little impact until track "Superman (It's Not Easy)" became an American anthem after the September 11 attacks. Ondrasik performed the song at 'The Concert for New York Cit'y in late 2001.
"Superman (It's Not Easy)" started climbing the charts reaching the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Top 40. While 'America Town' itself failed to make the top 50 of the Billboard 200 album charts, its consistent sales led to it going platinum. "Superman (It's Not Easy)" was also an international hit reaching number one on a composite adult international chart (based on performance in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Australia). Ondrasik's second single, "Easy Tonight", would make the top 20 of the world adult chart as well as going top 20 in New Zealand.
His third album, 'The Battle for Everything', debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 in February 2004. Its first single, "100 Years", was another top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and again reached number one on the World Adult Top 40. It also was number one on a composite world airplay chart and top 10 on a composite world modern rock chart. (based on USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Canada and Australia).
The Five for Fighting song "100 Years" was used in a ubiquitous JP Morgan Chase commercial, and more recently in an episode of Scrubs. The song was also used in the last scenes of the final episode of JAG.
Lately, Ondrasik's sixth album, 2013's 'Bookmarks', came out after a four year gap between his last release. The album has received critical praise from a variety of publications such as Allmusic, where the reviewer lauded how Five for Fighting produced " sturdy tunes wrapped up neatly in a shiny, appealing gloss". Released by the label Universal, his work also hit the #54 slot on the Billboard 200, with his fans happily looking forwards to his future endeavors.
See more at: http://www.fiveforfighting.com/
Boat Parade
Five for Fighting Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the penitents used to live
There's a crack in the hull
Where the Penitents used to live
And we can make it right if we row all night
Give all that we can give
There's a crack in the hull
There's a leak in the hold
Where the infantry used to sleep
There's a leak in the hold
Where the Infantry used to sleep
And we can make it right if we roll all night
Baby dust off your knees
There's a leak in the hold
Where the infantry used to be
Little monsters (on the table)
Crazies here to play
Little monsters in the boat parade
There's a hole in the hat
Where the captain kept his dreams
There's a hole in the hat
Where the Captain kept his dreams
And we can make it right
If we sail all night
Better pray for a breeze
There's a hole in the hat
Where the captain used to be
The song "Boat Parade" by Five for Fighting speaks of a ship with cracks, leaks, and holes where certain people used to be. The first two verses refer to the place where the Penitents and Infantry used to reside but now have been removed or evacuated. The significant refrain "And we can make it right if we row all night, give all that we can give" reinforces that the people left are willing to work hard to fix things but are struggling with the task at hand. The scene in which the song takes place is somewhat chaotic, with the repeated reference to "little monsters" and "crazies" on the table, playing as the journey takes its course.
The final verse talks about a hole in the captain's hat where he stored his dreams, implying that the journey has taken its toll on the people in charge as well. The chorus suggests that the ship has a long way to go but can make it with enough perseverance and determination.
Overall, "Boat Parade" is a highly symbolic song that speaks metaphorically about battles against internal and external turmoil, resilience, and optimism towards a future that is still uncertain.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a crack in the hull
The boat has damage where the penitents used to live
And we can make it right if we row all night
We can fix the damage by working hard through the night
Give all that we can give
Put in all effort possible
There's a leak in the hold
Water is coming into the boat where the infantry used to sleep
Baby dust off your knees
Don't give up on fixing the boat, make an effort
Little monsters (on the table)
Strange creatures are around and causing trouble
Crazies here to play
There are people here who are acting insane
There's a hole in the hat
The captain's prized possession has been damaged and dreams are slipping away
Better pray for a breeze
Hope that something good happens which can help ease the situation
Where the captain used to be
Everything has gone wrong and the captain is no longer there
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JOHN ONDRASIK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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