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| Eye of the tiger (Survivor) |
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This was written as the theme song for Stalone's movie "Rocky III" in 1982 but it gained tremendous success in many countries on its own.
You can also sing this song yourself to this karaoke version: Eye of the Tiger -karaoke or this singalong version: Eye of the Tiger -singalong.
You can also learn how to play this song on the guitar here.
Risin' up back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
just a man and his will to survive
so many times it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive
It's the Eye of the Tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all
with the Eye of the Tiger
Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
They stack the odds until we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive
It's the Eye of the Tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Risin'up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all
with the Eye of the Tiger
Risin' up straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive
It's the Eye of the Tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
and he's watching us all with the eye
of the tiger........
RISING UP, BACK ON THE STREET= He was in prison. To “rise up” here is to stand up again and walk to freedom, to recover your dignity. BACK = again. ON THE STREET (AmE) = “IN the street” (BrE).
DID MY TIME= If you do your time (in prison), you complete your sentence and go out of prison.
TOOK MY CHANCES= Risked.
WENT THE DISTANCE= Went right to the end; kept fighting till the end; never gave up.
I’M BACK ON MY FEET= I recovered form an illness or a fight or an accident... I am well and fit again to live a normal life.
HIS WILL= His desire/determination/intention.
TRADE= Exchange.
LOSE YOUR GRIP= Let it go. If you “don’t lose your grip ON the dreams of the past”, it means that you keep your dreams, you don’t give them up or forget about them, you continue fighting for what you always wanted.
THRILL= Excitement.
STALK= To follow and/or observe a person/animal carefully, often unnoticed, hiding, usually with bad intentions (because you are waiting for the right moment to attack them, etc.)
PREY= (sg and plural: 1 prey, 2 prey) Animals can be predators (lions, tigers, wolves) or prey (sheep, gazelles, rabbits). Predators eat prey.
FACE TO FACE= In presence, with visual contact.
IN THE HEAT= Outside, when it’s very hot.
TOUGH= /tʌf/ A tough man is strong, aggressive, violent, and knows how to defend himself.
THEY STACK THE ODDS= They (the authority) arrange everything so we can’t win (literally it means “they accumulate every possibility”, so we have none left).
TAKE TO THE STREET= When people take to the street, there is an explosion of popular violence and riots, so the authorities lose control of the streets.
SKILL= Ability.
THE GUTS= (coll.) The courage.
GONNA= (coll.) Going to.
Since the song was commissioned specifically for the film "Rocky III" (a film about fierce boxing competitions), the lyrics talk about a tough guy who is a survivor, the one who beats them all. For this man, life is a fight where only the fittest survive, and he is a survivor. No fellow men around, everybody else is just a rival for him. Why is that? Well, he's just come out of prison (I'm back on the streets / did my time).
But, is he a criminal? A bad person? Of course not, or he wouldn’t be the hero here. They don’t say what’s happening but he probably is a political prisoner who fought for freedom and justice. That’s why he tells you to keep fighting for the dreams of your past (don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past). He spent time in prison because he wanted justice, and now that he’s out, he’ll continue his fight for justice.
The authorities who imprisoned him (probably a dictatorship) are compared to an evil predator, a tiger, who stalks you, watching you carefully like a Big Brother, ready to attack the moment you do something they don’t like. It is that “Eye of the Tiger” what we must fear and combat to be free.
The authorities are compared to the eye of the tiger, because the tiger stalks its preys watching intensely before attacking. It is that intense look what best catches our imagination and concentrates all the power of the animal getting ready to attack. If the eye of the tiger is on you... better say your prayers.
They try to control everything so we have no options except for the ones they want (they stalk the odds), but one day we’ll rebel against them, we’ll all go out to fight them. That’s why “they stalk the odds” now, but only “until we take to the streets”, and then the final victory will be ours.
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