Cover art for Fight the Power, Pts. 1 & 2 by The Isley Brothers

Fight the Power, Pts. 1 & 2

Jun. 7, 19751 viewer10.8K views

Fight the Power, Pts. 1 & 2 Lyrics

[Intro]
Ha! Ooh
Hey, ha!
Ha!

[Verse 1]
Time is truly wastin’, there’s no guarantee, yeah
Smile is in the makin’, we've got to fight the powers that be

Got so many voices, saying all the same, yeah
Killing up all around me, faces full of pain

[Refrain]
I tried to play my music, they say my music’s too loud
I tried talking about it, I got the big runaround
And when I rolled with the punches, I got knocked on the ground
By all this bullshit going down, hey


[Verse 2]
Time is truly wastin’, there’s no guarantee, yeah
Smile is in the makin’, we got to fight the powers that be
I don’t understand it, people wanna say, yeah
Those that got the answers, red tape in the way
I could tend to it easy, that's just half the fun now, now
Seekin’ my satisfaction keeps me on the run

[Refrain]
I tried to play my music, say my music’s too loud
I tried talking about it, I got the big runaround
And when I rolled with the punches, I got knocked on the ground
By all this bullshit going down, ooh!

[Verse 3]
Time is truly wastin’, there’s no guarantee, yeah
Smile is in the makin’, we got to fight the powers that be
Fight it baby, yeah, woo, hey
Even you and I can fight the power, come on

[Chorus]
Fight it, fight the power, ha!
Fight it, fight the, baby, baby, baby, baby
Fight it (Come on), fight the power
Fight it (Fight it), fight the power (Come on)
Fight it (Fight it), fight the power
Stand up and fight it, fight the power (Come on)

Fight it (Stand up, stand up), fight the power (Fight, fight, fight)
Fight it (Fight it), fight the power (Come on, come on)
Fight it (I believe, I believe we can), fight the power (Fight the power)
Fight it (Fight), fight the, baby, baby, baby, baby, yeah

Fight it, fight the power (Fight the power)
Fight it, fight the power (Fight the power)
(Even you and I can) Fight it, fight the power (Fight the power)
(Stand up, stand up) Fight it, fight the power (Fight, fight, fight)

Fight it (Fight it), fight the power (Come on, yeah, yeah)
Fight it (Fight it), fight the power
Fight it (Come on), yeah, and fight the power
We gotta fight it (Got to), gotta fight the power
We gotta fight it (Fight), got to fight the power (Come on, come on)
We gotta fight it (Fight it), fight it, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight it, I know
That we gonna fight it, fight the power (Can you, can you?)

We gonna fight it, gon' fight the power (We wanna know)
Can you fight it (Fight it), can you fight the power? (One more, now)
Fight it (Yeah), fight the power (Fight it, fight it, fight it)
Fight it (Yeah)

Fight it, gonna fight the power, ha!
Fight it, gonna fight the power
Even you and I can, gonna fight the power
(Stand up) Fight it, gonna fight the power

Fight it, fight the power
Fight it, fight the power
Fight it (Fight it), fight the power (I fight it)
Fight it (Just stand up), fight the power

(Stand up) Fight it, fight the power (Fight the power)
Fight it
Fight it
Fight it
Fight it
Fight it
Fight it
Fight it
Fight it
Fight it

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Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did The Isley Brothers say about "Fight the Power, Pts. 1 & 2"?
Genius Answer

Well, we decided not to be passive, to take a stand. And we met hardly any resistance because that power could be anything – we all have our different conceptions of what it is to each of us. And just letting it out – about the bulls–t that does go down – is something that everyone wants to do.

— Marvin Isley, Blues & Soul, 1976

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