Difference between revisions of "The Fight Song"
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|Released = November 13, 2000 | |Released = November 13, 2000 | ||
|Recorded = 1999–2000 at the Mansion in Death Valley, California | |Recorded = 1999–2000 at the Mansion in Death Valley, California | ||
− | |Genre = Alternative metal | + | |Genre = Alternative metal, punk metal, industrial rock |
|Length = 2:55 | |Length = 2:55 | ||
|Label = [[Nothing Records|Nothing]], [[Interscope Records|Interscope]] | |Label = [[Nothing Records|Nothing]], [[Interscope Records|Interscope]] |
Revision as of 20:15, 25 March 2013
"The Fight Song" | ||
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Song by Marilyn Manson | ||
Album | Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) | |
Released | November 13, 2000 | |
Recorded | 1999–2000 at the Mansion in Death Valley, California | |
Genre | Alternative metal, punk metal, industrial rock | |
Length | 2:55 | |
Label | Nothing, Interscope | |
Writer | Marilyn Manson | |
Composer | John 5 | |
Producer | Marilyn Manson, Dave Sardy |
"The Fight Song" is the second single and the third track of the fourth album Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death). The title is a pun on to sports team anthems known as Fight Songs as the song is partially a post-Columbine statement disparaging mainstream America's own glorification of violence amongst it's youth, while also criticizing the slave mentality of Christianity. "I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist" is thought to be inspired from a passage by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche which states "the only excuse for God is that he doesn't exist." The music is often compared to Blur's "Song 2". It may also be noted that the line, "the death of one is a tragedy but the death of millions is just a statistic" is a quote from Joseph Stalin and also a quote from Erich Maria Remarque's novel The Black Obelisk.
Contents
Appearances
Albums
Singles
- "The Fight Song" Pt. 1 and 2
Soundtracks
- Mean Machine
Versions
- The Fight Song — Appears on Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) and Lost & Found.
- The Fight Song (Clean version) — Appears on "The Fight Song" single.
- The Fight Song (Slipknot Remix) — Appears on the Resident Evil soundtrack, "The Fight Song" Pt. 1 single and The Nobodies: 2005 Against All Gods Mix.
- The Fight Song (Live) — Appears on the "The Fight Song" Pt. 2 single.
- The Fight Song (Live) — Appears on the Guns, God and Government World Tour DVD.
Tarot cards
The UK versions of "The Fight Song" included Tarot cards featured in the Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) booklet. Each card had a description written on its back.
Music Video
The music video, directed by Wiz, features the band performing on stage at a football game. The teams playing are typical "jocks" facing against "goths", and, according to the scoreboard, are representative of "Holy Wood" and "Death Valley" (a reference to the album featuring the track, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death). Though it begins as a standard football game, it takes a destructive turn when a player throws a ball at the scoreboard, causing a small explosion, leading to more havoc as a Death Valley player begins cutting down the goal post and setting it ablaze as the music video ends.
As a side note, the billboard behind the band performing reads "We're all HAPPY To live in America", and all the Death Valley players have the numbers "00" on their uniforms (including Manson, having the numbers painted to his back).
Analysis
The video can be seen as a representation of the concept behind Holy Wood. The two teams of the video (Holy Wood and Death Valley) share the names with the two dueling regions in the world of Holy Wood. Holy Wood is the home of "the beautiful people", who are wealthy and adored, and Death Valley is the host of the lesser, undesirable "Horrible People". In the story, the people of Death Valley revolt against, what they see as a fascist, Holy Wood. The football game is a metaphor for this struggle, and Death Valley's sudden turn to violence acts as the beginning of the revolution. The fact that all Death Valley players have "00" as their uniform number emphasizes their role as "zeroes" or "nobodies". It is assumed that the scene of a football game intertwines with the themes of Holy Wood, as football is simultaneously one of the most violent sports and one of America's greatest obsessions.
Controversy
The music video generated minor controversy for its violent depiction of a football game between jocks and goths, which some sources have interpreted to be directly "echoing" Columbine.[1][2] Manson, for his part, has vehemently denied this, stating, "I'm trying to show that sports as well as music can be seen as violent, so I chose a traditional black vs white, good vs evil theme for the video."[2] He further dismissed the claims to MTV News at the American Music Awards on January 8, 2001, stating, "People will put into it what they want if it helps them sell newspapers or helps them write a headline. They're gonna want to turn it into something it isn't. Flak is my job."[1]
Lyrics
Nothing suffocates you more than the passing of everyday human events Isolation is the oxygen mask you make your children breathe into survive But I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit And when we were good you just closed your eyes So when we are bad we'll scar your minds fight, fight, fight, fight You'll never grow up to be a big-rock-star-celebrated-victim-of-your-fame They'll just cut our wrists like cheap coupons and say that death was on sale today And when we were good you just closed your eyes So when we are bad we'll scar your minds But I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit the death of one is a tragedy but the death of millions is just a statistic. But I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit fight, fight, fight, fight
Trivia
- Clips of the music video appear in the Micheal Moore movie Bowling for Columbine.
- The lyric,"The death of one is a tragedy. The death of a million is just a statistic" is a reference to Joseph Stalin who once declared , "The death of one person is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic."[3]
- Following it's release as a commercial single, "The Fight Song" was often criticized for sounding too similar to "Song 2" by Blur, or in some cases, a direct rip-off. By the time "The Fight Song" debuted as a radio single, "Song 2" had been part of most rock station's regular rotation for a few years.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Manson Comes Out Fighting". NME. 2001-01-11. http://www.nme.com/news/marilynmanson/5948. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "See Stills From New Manson Video". NME. 2001-02-13. http://www.nme.com/news/marilyn-manson/6423. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ↑ "The Life of Joseph Stalin". Suite101.com. November 27, 2009. http://www.suite101.com/content/joseph-stalin-a173675.