Five for Fighting is the stage name of U.S. singer-songwriter John Ondrasik… Read Full Bio ↴Five for Fighting is the stage name of U.S. singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. His latest work being 2013's 'Bookmarks', his breakout into international success came with his 2000 album 'America Town', which went platinum in the U.S. due to the widespread acclaim of his song "Superman (It's Not Easy)" in late 2001. His 2004 album 'The Battle For Everything' has also enjoyed considerable chart success in the U.S. Ondrasikhas released a DualDisc of his 2004 album as well, with has one side containing 'The Battle for Everything' in its entirety and the other side being a DVD containing bonus footage and the "100 Years" music video.

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/

Sister Sunshine
Five for Fighting Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I trade 'em a smile for a pain pill
I needed a place
Maybe I could feel better but all the while
I can never get you off my mind

I had a chat with the universe
I'll never understand why the good man's cursed
If you're gonna have a heart

Then you gotta be the one to die

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
You've been living in the sky
Are you ever gonna come on down?

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
Show me love

I pray though I've never been a God man
You never know maybe that your smile meant something
I switched back, see if anything is going right

[Incomprehensible] called me a bloody elf
Said you're gonna save one better save yourself
And you'll never know me
Till you find your own piece of light

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
You've been living in the sky
Are you ever gonna come on down?
Oh brother, can you help me?

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
Show me love, love, love
Gonna show me love, love
Love, love

And if you fly away
I won't let you fly away
That's that and nothing more
That's that and only that and nothing more

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
You've been living in the sky
Are you ever gonna come on down?
Oh brother, can you help me?

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
You've been living in the sky
Are you ever gonna come on down?

Say, hey yeah, sister sunshine
You've been living in the sky
Are you ever gonna come on down?
No one ever gonna help me

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
You've been living in the sky
Are you ever gonna come on down?

Hey yeah, sister sunshine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Five for Fighting's song Sister Sunshine are filled with emotions and longing. The song talks about the singer struggling with his addiction to pain pills and wishing to feel better. He has a chat with the universe, wondering why good people are cursed and why he can't seem to get over the person he loves. The lyrics talk about the struggles of addiction and the realization that if you have a heart, you have to be willing to die for it.

The singer then asks Sister Sunshine to come down from the sky and show him her love. He talks about his struggle with finding his own peace of light and how others can't understand him until they do the same. The last lines of the song talk about his desperation for help, wishing someone could help him and bring Sister Sunshine down from the sky. Overall, the song talks about struggles with addiction and love, and the longing for help and support.

Line by Line Meaning

I trade 'em a smile for a pain pill
To cope with pain, I give up on happiness

I needed a place
I was searching for a comfortable space to heal

Maybe I could feel better but all the while
Although I tried to feel better, you were always on my mind

I can never get you off my mind
You have a permanent place in my thoughts

I had a chat with the universe
I tried to make sense of the world

I'll never understand why the good man's cursed
Why do bad things happen to good people? I'll never know

If you're gonna have a heart
To have emotions, you must be vulnerable

Then you gotta be the one to die
Being vulnerable comes with the possibility of getting hurt

Hey yeah, sister sunshine
Addressing someone who represents happiness and positivity

You've been living in the sky
You seem to be distant or unattainable

Are you ever gonna come on down?
Will you ever be reachable or present?

Show me love
Provide me with affection and care

I pray though I've never been a God man
I hope, even though I'm not religious

You never know maybe that your smile meant something
Your smile may have had a significant impact on me

I switched back, see if anything is going right
I'm checking if things are improving

[Incomprehensible] called me a bloody elf
Someone insulted me in a way I couldn't understand

Said you're gonna save one better save yourself
You should focus on yourself before trying to save others

And you'll never know me
You won't truly understand me

Till you find your own piece of light
Until you find your own source of happiness

Oh brother, can you help me?
Asking for support from a brotherly figure

Gonna show me love, love
I expect to be shown love and care

And if you fly away
If you leave me

I won't let you fly away
I'll try to keep you from leaving

That's that and nothing more
That's all I can do

No one ever gonna help me
Feeling a lack of support

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JOHN ONDRASIK, CURT SCHNEIDER, ANDREW WILLIAMS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS