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/
Superman
Five for Fighting Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me
I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane
I'm more than some pretty face beside a train
And it's not easy to be me
I wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
'Bout a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd, but don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed, but won't you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
And it's not easy to be me
Up, up and away, away from me
Well, it's all right, you can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy or anything
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
Inside of me
Inside of me
Yeah, inside of me
Inside of me
I'm only a man
In a funny red sheet
I'm only a man
Looking for a dream
I'm only a man
In a funny red sheet
And it's not easy, ooh ooh ooh
It's not easy to be me
The lyrics of "Superman" by Five for Fighting express the struggles that come with being a hero. The opening lines, "I can't stand to fly. I'm not that naive. I'm just out to find the better part of me," suggest that while the singer has extraordinary abilities, they are overwhelmed by the demands of their heroic role. The following lines, "I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane. I'm more than some pretty face beside a train. And it's not easy to be me," emphasize the singer's desire to be seen beyond their superhuman abilities and not be solely defined by their actions as a hero.
The chorus reminds the listener that even heroes have emotions and can feel pain with the lyrics, "It may sound absurd, but don't be naive. Even heroes have the right to bleed. I may be disturbed, but won't you concede? Even heroes have the right to dream. And it's not easy to be me." The lines illustrate how difficult it can be for heroes to balance their personal life with their heroic duties. The final verse emphasizes this further, "I'm only a man in a funny red sheet. Looking for special things inside of me. Inside of me. Inside of me. Yeah, inside of me. Inside of me." Here, the singer recognizes their humanity and their struggle to find their own identity outside of their heroic persona.
Overall, "Superman" is a powerful song that shows the complex struggles that come with being a hero. The lyrics remind the listener that heroes are not infallible and are capable of experiencing emotions similar to any ordinary human being.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't stand to fly
Flying is a difficult experience for me and I do not enjoy it
I'm not that naive
I am not foolishly optimistic or hopeful
I'm just out to find The better part of me
I am searching for a better version of myself
I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane
I am not just a simple creature, I am complex and multi-dimensional
I'm more than some pretty face beside a train
I am not just a superficial image, there is more substance to me than that
And it's not easy to be me
Being myself is not a simple or easy task
I wish that I could cry
I desire the ability to freely express my emotions and show vulnerability
Fall upon my knees
In a moment of intense emotion, I want to express my reverence or submission
Find a way to lie, 'Bout a home I'll never see
I sometimes feel the need to pretend or hide the truth about a place or feeling that I will never experience
It may sound absurd, but don't be naive
Although it might seem ridiculous, it is still true
Even heroes have the right to bleed
Even the strongest or most successful people can still suffer or feel pain
I may be disturbed, but won't you concede
I might come off as troubled, but can you acknowledge or accept that?
Even heroes have the right to dream
No matter who you are, you have the right to hope for something more
And it's not easy to be me
Once again, being myself is not a simple or easy task
Up, up and away, away from me
Leave me behind and go on without me
Well, it's all right, you can all sleep sound tonight
You don't need to worry about me, everything will be okay
I'm not crazy or anything
I'm not insane or unstable, despite how I may appear
Men weren't meant to ride With clouds between their knees
Flying is not a natural or comfortable experience for humans
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
I am just a person wearing a ridiculous costume
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
I am searching for something that weakens or hurts me, but I am doing it on an impossible path with no turning back
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Once again, I am just a person wearing a silly outfit
Looking for special things inside of me
I am exploring my own inner self and searching for unique qualities or attributes
Inside of me
Within myself
Yeah, inside of me
Yes, within myself
I'm only a man
Once again, I am just a person
Looking for a dream
I am searching for a goal or aspiration to strive towards
And it's not easy, ooh ooh ooh
Being myself and following my dreams is not a simple or easy task
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: John Ondrasik
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rhio Reyes
wow ganda
@magnusmartinreitbauer9615
Lyrics:
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naïve
I'm just out to find
The better part of me
I'm more than a bird,
I'm more than a plane
I'm more than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me
I wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
'Bout a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd but don't be naïve
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed but won’t you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream
And it's not easy to be me
Up, up and away, away from me
Well, it's alright
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy or anything
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naïve
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
Inside of me, inside of me [2x]
I’m only a man in a funny red sheet
I’m only a man looking for a dream
I’m only a man in a funny red sheet
And it's not easy.
It's not easy to be me.
@scottpowell5605
@@poisonivymathers Actually..."out of the blue" isn't always a bad thing.
A song you haven't heard in years can come on & completely change your entire day.
Lyrics from another song (google it).
Ain't it funny how a melody
Can bring back a memory
Take you to another place & time
Completely change your state of mind
@Pineappolis
Totally true of the song - love it and it, honestly, captures the core of Superman's character pretty darn well (better than most Superman comics, hoenstly). Very good writers are capable of doing it - AC #775 is so renowned, for example, despite having mostly... umm... atrocious artwork and fundamentally being very simple because, while Superman and his ideals ultimately triumph... it's far from because he's invincible. Despite it being very short it makes time for him to have not one but two pep-talks (with one being a simple but fantastic talk with Pa Kent) because his ideals are very, very hard to live by, very easy to doubt, and, yeah, it's incredibly important to realise, for all his strength, he's still just just a guy doing his best the way his awesome folks taught him.
Those are the touches that separate great stories from merely good ones and, with Supes, you practically need great. Characters with more limited and interesting powers - it's relatively easy for the writer to make a comic memorable as long as the artists are very good and there are plenty of very talented artists out there.
Supes? You've got a guy who has the power to "fix" a lot of the world's problems by putting himself above the law and not just killing 90% of the world's supervillains in his lunch break but destroying the armies of nations with governments deemed dangerous and... just about anything else he wanted. His moral compass is so trusted so widely that very few people would have any complaints.
What do you do with that? Ideally, you show a man who is probably just barely coping (but feels too greatly the need to give hope to people to show it) under the staggering weight of knowing that most people would rather have him "fix" the world as he sees fit, and knowing he could, but that doing so is anathema to his beliefs - that he is has no right to impose his will on others (beyond what would be deemed reasonable force at trial), that he's no less capable of being wrong than anyone else and that humanity can do better on their own, especially if lent a helping hand. That's difficult to write into stories without making the story about it.* Kingdom Come is a great example of very subtly and cleverly deconstructing his character - we've had a million knock-off (and several Elseworlds) Supermen decide to become tyrants because something terrible happens.
Having him still cling to his ideals on the worst day of his life only for someone else to commit the cold-blooded murder he wouldn't, be acquitted despite insurmountable evidence, and hailed as the real hero, causing Supes to be so broken that he basically decides, "if people don't want heroism done my way anymore - let them have their murderers - it's not in me to keep pretending that wasn't always what most people wanted the whole time anymore," only for things to gradually turn into a complete nightmare of gangs of metahumans murdering each other and catch civilians in the crossfire until he feels he has to comeback... but ends up overcorrecting, not out of anger but out of shame for abandoning humanity in the first place, becoming sufficiently dictatorial to start interning metahumans without trial and needing help to realise he's gone too far? Now that's interesting - it's just that character motivation being grief, disillusionment and exhaustion followed by immense guilt at letting those feelings break him is a lot harder to come up with than, "being really pissed off."
*The best I've ever seen it done is a single panel of him reading thousands of letters (I assume he had a PO box as Superman because of course he does) asking him to, in one way or another, "fix" the world while sitting slumped in a chair and looking so shattered that you wouldn't be surprised if he burst into tears. No dialogue - the artwork does more than any monologue I've read to convey how heartbreaking it must be at times when his kindness and eternal desire help run headlong into his humility and knowledge that, in many cases, doing so would require him essentially to declare himself King of the Earth.
@qbrizzy1158
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me
I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane
I'm more than some pretty face beside a train
And it's not easy to be me
I wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
'Bout a home I'll never see
It may sound absurd, but don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed, but won't you concede
Even heroes have the right to dream?
And it's not easy to be me
Up, up, and away, away from me
Well, it's all right
You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy
Or anything
I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees
I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me
Inside of me
Inside of me
Yeah, inside of me
Inside of me
I'm only a man in a funny red sheet
I'm only a man looking for a dream
I'm only a man in a funny red sheet
And it's not easy, ooh, ooh, ooh
It's not easy to be me
@EvenOut
These film techniques still get to me to this day!
@johncalebfacurib6259
Same
@usernotfound1191
Somewhat but its kinda nice i suppose
@GoodSoup
Why hello there EvenOut.
@comptonyankeegang1664
That video was hella cool
@osamabinladen824
Me too
@sammasella4525
I miss you so much dad. This was your favorite song. 6 years ago you gained your wings, and 6 years ago you played this song at McDonalds when i was eating lunch on my lunch break, telling me that you were still here watching over me. I still cry any time I hear or think of this song. Thank you for being the best dad a girl could ask for, and you will always be my Superman🦸i will love and miss you forever 🪽♥️
@AntWillUms
I lost my dad October 14th, 2022. I hope you're doing okay, and wherever you are now you're happy and safe, and he's proud of you, even if you believe with all your heart that he isn't. Music has a way of healing and of telling us things we need to hear the most, from exactly who we needed to tell us.
@amybethhurst
My dad too. He always said, "I'm no superman." I sang this in his honor once I could get through it without crying.