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/
White Picket Fence
Five for Fighting Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I shaved half my face
Became half the man you asked to replace.
I'm willing to save you
You said you're worth saving
But half of my appetite's lost half it's craving
Stand in the mirror
That's me beside you
Don't mind the madman
The killer, the lover
He's slowly fading one into the other.
Where is that white picket fence
That I painted myself in the late days of April?
Where are the daffodil mountains?
I know that they're somewhere around here by the garden.
You say that you're happy
Well you should know better
I see that you've sewn up that rip in your sweater
That some lover tore off you
That left you both shaking
That bled deep inside you the wound you'd forsaken
Where is that white picket fence
That I painted myself in the late days of April?
Where are the daffodil mountains?
I know that they're somewhere around here by the garden.
Don't fear I will save you
Don't shout you'll awaken
The corpse in the desert staked out beside you
I cut off his wing
And shaved half his face
But I thought that I saw his eyes, move
The lyrics in "White Picket Fence" by Five for Fighting express themes of loss, change, and the disintegration of the life that the singer had once envisioned. The opening lines reveal that the singer has undergone a significant transformation, physically and mentally, in response to a failed relationship. He has cut off his hair and beard, and he describes himself as "half the man" his former love wanted him to be. He is willing to save her, but something inside of him is no longer whole. The singer seems to be divided between two states of mind; the madman, killer, and lover all exist within him and appear to be morphing into one another.
The second half of each verse is a reflection of the singer's internal state projected onto the external world. He longs for the idyllic life he once painted for himself, symbolized by the white picket fence and daffodil mountains. However, they have faded away, replaced by an understated garden. The singer's love interest claims to be content, but the singer sees through her facade, recognizing the trauma of a past lover's mistreatment that she has tried to hide. In the final lines, the singer seems to question his own sanity and morality, a possible reference to the breakdown of his psyche.
Overall, the lyrics depict a struggle to come to terms with loss, change, and the ghosts of the past. The singer reflects on his own internal state, the world around him, and the woman he once loved, all while attempting to reconcile the disparate parts of himself.
Line by Line Meaning
I've cut off the curls
I've changed myself, I've altered who I once was
I shaved half my face
I'm not the man I used to be, I'm only half of that person now
Became half the man you asked to replace.
You wanted me to change, and I changed, but not for the better
I'm willing to save you
I am ready to help you, to offer you a sense of comfort and guidance in your life
You said you're worth saving
You have assured me that you have value and that you are worth the effort to keep safe and protected
But half of my appetite's lost half it's craving
I feel as though I have lost my desire to experience life as fully as I once did
Stand in the mirror
Take a moment to reflect on yourself and your appearance
That's me beside you
The person you see standing next to you is who I am, who I've become
The one with the smile, the one who abides you.
I'm still the person who wears a smile and who supports you, who is on your side
Don't mind the madman
Ignore the darker side of me, the part of me that is irrational or unstable
The killer, the lover
The two sides of me, one that destroys and one that creates
He's slowly fading one into the other.
These two sides of me are becoming more and more similar, more difficult to distinguish from each other
Where is that white picket fence
Where is the idyllic, perfect life that I thought I could have?
That I painted myself in the late days of April?
That life was something that I envisioned for myself, something that I created in my own mind
Where are the daffodil mountains?
Where is the beauty and joy that I thought I could find in the world?
I know that they're somewhere around here by the garden.
I believe that I can still find those things, that they are close by and within reach
You say that you're happy
You claim to be content and satisfied with your life
Well you should know better
But I can see that there is more to your story, that you are not being completely honest with yourself
I see that you've sewn up that rip in your sweater
You've tried to patch up a wound, to heal a hurt that you've experienced
That some lover tore off you
Someone you loved hurt you deeply
That left you both shaking
You were so hurt and upset that you physically trembled
That bled deep inside you the wound you'd forsaken
You tried to pretend that you were okay, that you could move on, but the pain was too deep and you couldn't ignore it forever
Don't fear I will save you
Don't be afraid, I am here to protect and help you
Don't shout you'll awaken
Don't yell out, don't attract attention to yourself
The corpse in the desert staked out beside you
The dead body laying next to you, a reminder of death and danger
I cut off his wing
I tried to prevent him from causing you any harm, I took away his ability to hurt you
And shaved half his face
I tried to remove his identity, to make him less of a threat
But I thought that I saw his eyes, move
But I wasn't entirely successful, and I'm still afraid that he might come back to haunt us
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN ONDRASIK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rhio Reyes
on Superman
wow ganda