"Fight for Victory"

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This is an essay that I wrote for my British Literature class. It is an interpretive essay about David Glen Eisley's song "Sweet Victory." I hope you enjoy!

Charity Caravaggio

5-12-11

Brit Lit

Mr. Anderson

“Fight For Victory”

Are you a Spongebob Squarepants watcher? There is an episode called “Band Geeks” and in this episode a famous song is used. At the end, you see all the main characters (Plankton, Squidward, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Sandy and Spongebob) performing the song “Sweet Victory” on a big stage. You can see a crowd of people swaying as the whole ‘band’ is rockin out. In reality, this song was sung by David Glen Eisley in the 1970’s; he was know as a heavy metal arena rocker. In his song, the message is: if we never give up we will be victorious. There are several elements of the song that carry through and stay constant with this message. In the song, “Sweet Victory,” David Glen Eisley’s poetic use of diction, sounds, repetition, figures of speech, and imagery emphasize the theme: “Fight for victory.”

The diction (choice of words, for example- the lyrics) of this song are all screaming one thing: “FIGHT!!!” What exactly is to be fought is up to the listener. Because of the first two lines of the second stanza in the first verse (according tohttp://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/david_glen_eisley/sweet_victory.html) “Against all the odds, against all your pain/Your back's on the wall with no one to blame” could be said that the song’s meaning is to ‘fight life.’ In other words to reach ‘sweet victory’ we must never ‘give up.’ This can be seen in the second and third lines of the chorus which says “It’s ours for the taking/It’s our for the fight.’ The choice of the words for this song (the diction) creates a message that can be very clearly interpreted as “fight for victory.”

Also, along with the diction is the sound. Both of these go hand in hand to portray the ‘don’t give up’ theme. Since David Glen Eisley is a heavy metal rocker the use of his drums and electric guitar emphasizes his message of ‘fight to win.’ In addition to the squeaking of the electric guitar and beat of drums comes the rhyme scheme of the song. The structure is two stanzas for the first verse, then a chorus and then two stanzas for the second verse, then the chorus and then the chorus again. The rhyme scheme for the first stanza of the verses are a/b/a/b and for the second stanza it’s a/a/a. The chorus is set up to be something like a/b/c/a/d/d. The verses’ rhyme schemes are pretty constant. This is important because that is where the meat of the message is. For example the last lines of the first stanza of the first verse says ‘It’s the thrill of one more kill/The last one to fall will never sacrifice their will.’ This shows a strong and constant rhyming sound that is pleasant to the listeners; it makes the listener want to sing it. What they are singing can be interpreted as ‘fight and you will be victorious.’ Through the audio sounds of the guitar and drums and also through the sounds created by the rhyming scheme itself the meaning to this song can be said to be “fight for victory.”

Next, there is evident repetition to this song that also reinforces the message of ‘fight for victory.’ The chorus is an example of this. The verses of this song (as stated before) have a very constant rhyming flow whereas the chorus doesn’t. The chorus portrays the message in a different way. This could be said to be repetitious. After the first verse is sung, the chorus is sung, then the second verse and then the chorus and then after that the chorus is sung AGAIN. This example of repetition can be seen on this website (the lyrics of the song:http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/david_glen_eisley/sweet_victory.html). This repetition greatly emphasizes the theme because the main point of the chorus is ‘the winner is victorious.’ The repetition of the chorus helps to make it clear that the meaning of this song can be interpreted to be ‘fight for victory.’

Another important element of this song are the figures of speech. These figures of speech can mainly be found in the second stanza of the first verse. It says ‘Be on the attack with your wings on the wind / Oh, the games will begin.’ Of course the song doesn’t mean literal wings (we obviously don’t have wings) and it doesn’t literally mean ‘games.’ So what does it really mean? Well these figures of speech are used to elaborate the theme ‘fight for victory.’ When it says ‘with your wings to the wind’ that gives a sense of flying to the end, being victorious. If we keep moving on then ‘the games will begin.’ What games? Perhaps the games of victory, the games of winning the games. These figures of speech are crucial in making the song as poetic as it is, along with relaying the message of ‘fight for victory’ to the listeners.

Lastly, in this song there are whole bunches of imagery. Imagery throughout the poem also enunciate the interpreted message. The second line of the entire song is “it’s the thrill of one more kill.” Does that seem to create an image? Maybe it creates an image of defeating something and/or the image of success. Perhaps it creates an image of money, fame, wisdom, or power. These images come from just that one line in the song; these images all relate to the meaning of ‘fight for victory.’ Another example of imagery that parallels the meaning is the line that says “push with a fever.” This line has the ability to create an image of someone striving against all odds with a passion toward a goal, an image of sweat, glory and perseverance. The images in this song all portray the message “fight for victory.”

In conclusion, the song, “Sweet Victory,” performed by David Glen Eisley can be interpreted to have a theme of ‘fight for victory.’ Through the diction (choice of words) we can interpret (the lyrics of the chorus as well as the verses) the message of we must fight and conquer, win and terminate all things against us to have victory. The sounds also make this theme clear in that the rock n roll sounds of the instruments are edgy, loud, and almost screaming along with the singer. The sounds of the poetry within the song reinforces the theme as well in that the constant rhyme scheme gives it a beat and pleasant sound that flows right along with the powerful lyrics. The chorus is unique in that it is repeated several times throughout the song. This repetition is also used to emphasize the theme ‘fight for victory’ because that is what the whole chorus is about. Figures of speech make the listeners think and feel about what they mean; they can be interpreted to mean ‘fight for victory.’ And last of all, imagery in the song plants pictures in the listener’s mind that illuminates fighting to win and never giving up that fight for victory. At first when listening to a song it appears that the song is just the same ol’, typical, structured song. But when listening to it closely and trying to pinpoint a theme, it can be interpreted in a clearer and more interesting way than what was expected.

“psychosurfer10's Videos - spongebob - sweet victory - GameSpot." GameSpot is your go-to source for video game news, reviews, and entertainment. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.gamespot.com/users/psychosurfer10/video_player?id=InEwkzet5bgPvjPX>.

“David Glen Eisley - Sweet Victory Lyrics." Lyrics, Song Lyrics LyricsMode.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/david_glen_eisley/sweet_victory.html>.

Submitted: May 24, 2011

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