"The Greatest" is a song by Australian singer Sia featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Making pop about a specific tragedy is necessarily a tricky job. So it's no crime that some of the other mainstream original songs memorializing Orlando have been as rote as issue-oriented singles are often stereotyped as being. ... But "The Greatest" is very potent, a work of art, not charity. ... There's no break here from the rest of Sia's catalogue about pain and release in everyday life: You hear a sad voice wailing about bucking up, very stark emotional peaks and valleys, and a danceable backing of explosive drums, toy-box melodies, and reggae grooves. Sia and Greg Kurstin may have written the song even before the massacre. But in the context of Orlando, the possible platitude of the chorus becomes gutting: "I'm free to be the greatest / I'm alive." She's pepping the listener up, but she's also defining the value of life, marking the human potential that's been lost.

Uh-oh, running out of breath, but I
Oh, I, I got stamina
Uh-oh, running now, I close my eyes
Well, oh, I got stamina
And uh-oh, I see another mountain to climb
But I, I, I got stamina
Uh-oh, I need another lover, be mine
Cause I, I, I got stamina

Don't give up, I won't give up
Don't give up, no no no
Don't give up, I won't give up
Don't give up, no no no

I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive
I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest
The greatest, the greatest alive
The greatest, the greatest alive

Well, uh-oh, running out of breath, but I
Oh, I, I got stamina
Uh-oh, running now, I close my eyes
But, oh, I got stamina
And oh yeah, running to the waves below
But I, I got stamina
And oh yeah, I'm running and I've just enough
And uh-oh, I got stamina

Don't give up, I won't give up
Don't give up, no no no
Don't give up, I won't give up
Don't give up, no no no

I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive
I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest
The greatest, the greatest alive
The greatest, the greatest alive

Oh-oh, I got stamina
Oh-oh, I got stamina
Oh-oh, I got stamina
Oh-oh, I got stamina

Hey, I am the truth
Hey, I am the wisdom of the fallen - I'm the youth
Hey, I am the greatest
Hey, this is the proof
Hey, I work hard, pray hard, pay dues, hey
I transform with pressure - I'm hands-on with effort
I fell twice before my bounce back was special
Letdowns will get you, and the critics will test you
But the strong will survive, another scar may bless you, ah

Don't give up (no no), I won't give up (no no)
Don't give up, no no no (nah)
Don't give up, I won't give up
Don't give up, no no no

I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive
I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up, no no no)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up, no no no)

The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)
The greatest, the greatest alive
(Don't give up, don't give up, don't give up; I got stamina)