I triple dog dare you not to clap your hands and stop your feet when you listen to this song. It is Powerful and uplifting. This is the first track on “Frames” and actually one of the first songs from the album that us fans were introduced to at Lee’s shows.
Talking about this painting is easy. The entire concept was a no brainer. I wanted to bring out the bold and fun beats of the song with a fun and colorful background. The background is actually my version on a picture that Lee posted on his instagram: Leedewyzeofficial , It was a picture he took in the studio while working on this album. It just felt like the perfect platform. I actually based my entire painting off of this pattern: (photo taken by Lee DeWyze)
My favorite thing about this song is that when you hear it… you KNOW it is Lee Dewyze. This is why I made it just him, his banjo and headphones. Instead of painting his likeness, I filled the entire outline with the lyrics. This makes sense to me. To me, Lee IS his lyrics… it is all you need to know the man behind the music. This one is THAT simple folks. As we go through the rest of the album, my stories behind why I painted what I did are more in depth. Like I said, this one is easy…..
You can listen to the in studio version of “FIGHT” here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HFPIzdKq3go&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHFPIzdKq3go
“Fight”
I wrote this song to make you feel alright today
I wrote it to make everything alright
And I would sing it every single day if you would say we’re fine
I can feel your heart is beating careful
‘Cus sometimes I pretend that I don’t care
I can’t believe I never let you know how much I need you here
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight will be alright and you will stay
It’s times I feel like you don’t know me anymore
And other times I think you know me best
I could love you better but I’d never wanna you less
So run away and I’ll be runnin next to you
I’d never let you run away alone
Before you run too far away I think that I should let you know
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight will be alright and you will stay
So put your hand in mine
We’ll be fine, I know
I know it, I
If you stay tonight
I promise I will show you
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight you will fight
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight will be alright and you will stay
So put your hand in mine
We’ll be fine, I know
I know it, I
If you stay tonight
I promise I will show you I will fight
I wrote it to make everything alright
And I would sing it every single day if you would say we’re fine
I can feel your heart is beating careful
‘Cus sometimes I pretend that I don’t care
I can’t believe I never let you know how much I need you here
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight will be alright and you will stay
It’s times I feel like you don’t know me anymore
And other times I think you know me best
I could love you better but I’d never wanna you less
So run away and I’ll be runnin next to you
I’d never let you run away alone
Before you run too far away I think that I should let you know
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight will be alright and you will stay
So put your hand in mine
We’ll be fine, I know
I know it, I
If you stay tonight
I promise I will show you
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight you will fight
‘Cus I will fight and I will beg
I just want to hear you say
That tonight will be alright and you will stay
So put your hand in mine
We’ll be fine, I know
I know it, I
If you stay tonight
I promise I will show you I will fight
Mare’s point of view as a fan of the music:
*A little music history*..... The Banjo was used originally in African folk music over 150 years ago, but has roots as far back as the late 1600’s! It was brought to the US during times of slavery where it eventually influenced blues and bluegrass music. It tends to be used for lively and upbeat music..... music that is needed to fight, find strength, give energy....
For me, when I hear this song, it’s about believing in someone, encouraging them, finding hope and following them through the dark. I think everyone has situations in life where you just get TIRED of whatever struggle, big or small, that you find yourself in. It could be a relationship, work, a health issue, or your own demons and life in general. Sometimes it’s watching someone you care about go through something. This song is like an interruption of the monotony of the daily fight. It tells me to REMEMBER. Remember there are people who care, that nothing is as bad as it seems, and no one is truly alone. Even on a bigger scale.... You may be sitting by yourself now, struggling with something.... BUT..... you aren’t the first person to feel or go through whatever it is... There’s an entire world out there, fighting with you. Take a step back and realize you ARE strong enough.... you just have to CHOOSE to be...and it’s ok to lean on others. Sometimes it takes more strength to lean on others than it does to face things alone.
What helps me to ‘Fight’ day in and day out, is music. I have very broad and dynamic tastes in music, however...... there is one voice, one artist, one song writer, one musician, that I typically immerse (literally) myself in when I NEED music. He’s here, in this painting, visually reminding me of the sound of his music by being made of lyrics I love....pouring out of him and into me...holding an instrument whose notes make my heart pound, reminding me I’m alive. The vintage shadow of the musician made of his lyrics. The same person and music I’ve always known...in a position I know well. The music lives inside of him.... and he is fighting HIS fight.... in the studio. It is MY reminder..... to FIGHT..... It’ll be ok.....I’m not alone. Thankfully, the music will always be there for me
And Danielle’s point of view looking at nothing but the painting:
When I look at this piece it says to me, let your creativity flow. I feel like I should be filling the world with my thoughts, my ideas; like I want positive to fly out of me and engulf the world! This painting says come feel what I feel...like the melody he's playing is pollinating his surroundings with his own positive energy.
Now hurry up & get ready to watch Hart of Dixie in the CW at 8:00pm!!! Listen for "Fight"!!!!!!!! You might have just enough time to get a snack... 👏👏👏
As Jenn says, this song is a uplifting stomper, combined with elements from 2 pictures Lee took on Instagram—the red batik-y cloth hanging in a music studio and a shot of Lee strumming the banjo. It’s painted in a bold, fun way with hidden grit.
ReplyDeleteHere, the singer, filled in with the lyrics for “Fight” plays his banjo in the studio against a vibrant rust, flower-spattered background. Rust is a gutsy color, earthy, the color of dirt and the color of blood. When you fight for something, anything, you’ve got to “put your feet to the ground” and give it heart, otherwise it’s all in vain.
The fun flowers flying around could be all his creative ideas blooming around him or the good stuff that blooms when you put in the effort of something worth fighting for. It doesn’t matter what the good thing is—relationship, a marriage, a friendship, a dream, a calling/cause, life—you’ve got to put in effort and persevere. Life here isn’t easy, we’re in a fallen world…but time and time again I have seen so much good come struggling to work through something.
And notice, he’s playing a banjo. A banjo is an instrument whose unpretentious twang lends itself well to music where honesty and authenticity are key, like bluegrass and country, or the blues. He is who he is, and he’ll be real. He’s wearing headphones—what musicians wear when recording so they can better hear the sound they’re making—but this is also like life. Sometimes we need these moments of quiet reflection to ingest the truth of what we’re fighting for and learn ways of how to change, or do it better.
The lyrics in the singer tell his story: This thing is worth keeping, I’m staying here, and I’ll fight for it. But to be real, you’ve got to be transparent and have people able to see your story.
That’s the road to real intimacy or anything worth keeping.