Song Lyric Sunday: I Won’t Back Down

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For today’s SLS, in his post Songs That Describe Your Life, Jim has invited us to play a song that always reminds us of ourselves. What an opportunity! Just think of all those songs I could share that tell you how wonderful I am! But I decided against that: I thought I should at least try to make this credible. So I’m going with this one:

And here are its lyrics:

Well, I won’t back down
No I won’t back down
You could stand me up at the gates of Hell
But I won’t back down

No I’ll stand my ground
Won’t be turned around
And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won’t back down

Hey baby
There ain’t no easy way out (I won’t back down)
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won’t back down

Well, I know what’s right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I’ll stand my ground
And I won’t back down

Hey baby
There ain’t no easy way out (I won’t back down)
Hey I will stand my ground (I won’t back down)
And I won’t back down

Hey baby
There ain’t no easy way out (I won’t back down)
Hey I won’t back down

Hey baby
There ain’t no easy way out (I won’t back down)
Hey I will stand my ground (I won’t back down)
And I won’t back down (I won’t back down)
No I won’t back down

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Tom Petty / Jeff Lynne

I Won’t Back Down lyrics © Emi April Music Inc., Gone Gator Music

That is such a great song, and he has assembled a pretty good backing band for it! It was on what was officially Tom Petty’s debut solo album, Full Moon Fever, released in April 1989, though members of the Heartbreakers played on several tracks, particularly Mike Campbell, who you saw playing guitar in the video. The album was #3 in the US and #8 here, and has sold over 6m copies. Five of its tracks were released as singles: this was the first, which came out at the same time as the album, and it peaked at #12 in the US and #28 here. Anyone who has seen my music posts before will know that I’m a big Tom Petty fan, and this was for me an obvious choice for today. It isn’t a song that has been with me throughout my life, as it only dates back to a time when I was (allegedly) grown-up, but it has meaning for me as being something suggested by a friend that was so accurate – he knew me well!

Many years ago, a group of us from work were in the pub for a drink after work (just the one, honest!) and this came on the jukebox. I was singing along to it and one of the group said to me that I should adopt it as my theme tune: “you can be such a stubborn bastard” was what he actually said. I then delighted in the soubriquet ‘SB’ for quite a while – better than ‘SoB’ I guess. I have to say that he was right: part of my job involved negotiating with commissioners of the services my health trust provided, so it was always a good thing to stand your ground when the occasion demanded. The art of the deal (where have I heard that phrase before?) was in judging when was the right time to compromise. That is, I think, one of those life lessons we should all learn: stand up for what you believe in and when you know you are right, but also recognise when it is the time to compromise, especially if you’re on shaky ground. And that is why this song always reminds me of myself.

A little footnote for you. This song has become a tradition at Florida Gators football games at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Tom’s hometown. Shortly after his sudden death the Gators had a home game and this was played between the third and fourth quarters, after the traditional university song We Are The Boys From Old Florida. It has been played at that time at every subsequent home game, with fans singing along and holding up their mobile phones to fill the stadium with lights.

Here is that first time, complete with their own song:

It appears that I’m not the only one for whom this song has some meaning.

44 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: I Won’t Back Down”

  1. Pingback: October | Take It Easy

  2. This is enlightening about Tom Petty. I’ll be honest, I only knew about his song called Free Falling. That’s probably everybody’s discovery of him. But did you know that Lucky from King of The Hill is played by him? Just a fun fact.

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    • Sounds like you have a lot of catching up to do as he was making records for about 40 years! Loads of good stuff for you to explore.

      I didn’t know that about him, but as I’ve never seen a single episode of King of the Hill that probably isn’t surprising 😊

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  4. Taking a stand is important! Good song and I especially liked the Gator’s tribute. Music can create such powerful, feel good moments!
    Maybe on Tuesday you can do songs about how wonderful you are. LOL! 🙂

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    • It’s a great song, with powerful lyrics, and is ideal for a sports team. I’ll have to save the ‘wonderful’ one for a bit: tomorrow’s is already written and next week’s is well ahead too. Maybe in a few weeks…

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  5. Pingback: Learning to Fly – a repeat tribute to Tom Petty | musingsofanoldfart

  10. Hi Clive
    The SB is better than SoB
    And this song had a lot of radio play so I know it well and it played in my mind as I read the lyrics.
    And a might nice song for the Gators to stream – honors Tom Petty and also sends a message about staying strong and not backing down (oh and you are right – knowing when to compromise and yield is important too!)

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    • I found this in my spam folder, but then forgot I hadn’t replied to it. So sorry! This has become a theme tune for the Gators: the lyrics are great for a sports team and Tom was a local boy. That is an important message, isn’t it, and one we all need to take on board.

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  11. I’m a huge Tom Petty fan, and you chose a good one. I liked learning that this song reminds you of yourself because it’s a song that emphasizes the importance of resiliency.

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  15. Clive, love Tom Petty. We got to see him about fifteen years ago. There is a great concert recorded at the University of Florida, where Stevie Nicks joins him on stage. Nicks later said she owed a lot to Petty who invited her to be a part of song duet early on after she left Fleetwood Mac. Keith

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  18. A perfect theme song! I love Tom Petty and this is a such great tune. I have always thought that Jon Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life could be my theme song, although Bryan Adam’s Eighteen Till I Die is the other one I use as a theme song.

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