Fight The Good Fight

Album: Allied Forces (1981)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Triumph was the Canadian power trio of singer/guitarist Rik Emmett, bass player Mike Levine, and singer/drummer Gil Moore. "Fight The Good Fight" is a band composition with lyrics by Emmett, who was inspired by his aunt, who was dying of cancer. "What can you tell someone who is facing the last challenge of this life?" he said in a Songfacts interview. "Or - what will you tell yourself? If you're in a rock band called Triumph, what message can you share with the people listening to a song on the radio, or standing on their chairs, out in an arena? Everyone gets to decide what their own 'good' fight will be, but everyone should be encouraged to discover it, and do it."
  • The themes of this song are resilience and persistence. Emmett says it's about "finding a calling when things get bleak."
  • The title is a biblical reference culled from 2 Timothy: 4:7 when St. Paul says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

    Paul wrote the letter while he was in a Roman prison for two years at a time when Christians were being persecuted under the reign of Emperor Nero. Knowing he'd most likely die for his faith, he was comforted by the fact that he "fought the good fight." (He was executed not long after, probably around 67 AD.)
  • Triumph was at the peak of their powers around this time - the Allied Forces album was a million-seller in America and also very popular in their native Canada. They didn't adapt well to the MTV era (there was no video for this song) and fell off in the mid-'80s. They fractured in 1989, with Emmett launching a successful solo career.

Comments: 4

  • El from ArizonaAnother gem from our neighbors to the Great White North, Eh?
  • Teddie from FloridaI loved Triumph’s music and Fight the Good Fight is an evergreen song! It is a song for everyone, one generation after another. I recently played it for my grandson and granddaughter. It means even more to me now after reading what inspired the song.
  • Dan Gillespy. from Courtenay Bc.1 good hard rocking underrated song.
  • Patrick Longworth from Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, CanadaThey didn't adapt well, yet were the ones suggesting the use of video to promote the band? I think their label was at fault, not the band. I love this song.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.