Though violence usually decimates anything that stands before it, not all songs about fighting are the bloody-fisted sonic rage you might expect.
Life might be defeating you, a relationship might be in ruins, or your might battle lie inside you, making you scramble to find the fight in yourself to stand up and carry on.
Our list of songs about fighting spans the roots of disaster to soak your spirit with the power you need to persevere.
Songs About Fighting
1. Eminem – Till I Collapse
Eminem’s Till I Collapse is fired by the will to not give up, to stay on top of your game and to fight for achievement till the end.
Eminem rallies the audience to mould their own reality, because being the best evolution of yourself is the ultimate way of fighting back against the people who tear you down.
The lyrics themselves are like an argument against an enemy, swarming with confidence, arrogance and personal strength. As always, Eminem’s delivery gets you powered up as you stand on the battlefield of competition.
2. Tyler Joe Miller – Fighting
Gut-wrenching and honest, Tyler Joe Miller’s Fighting is a track about fighting the demons in your head to become “the man my daddy told me to be.”
The protagonist refuses to be broken by struggle, instead fighting a long but hopeful search for self-renewal.
Miller embeds many poignant lines, doused with a heavy truth that most men might fear to stand eye-to-eye to: “A crowded room and I’m still lonely, talking tough but it ain’t true.
If any girl tries to love me, I’m scared I’ll break her heart in two.” It takes a true fighter to be honest with yourself, and sometimes the first step in winning your personal battle is to admit the things you’ve lost.
3. P!nk – So What
So What is plastered with the fiesty, let-loose energy any girl needs after a break up. P!nk unleashes a torrent of raucous self-empowerment in the face of her ex-husband, adopting careless aggression as a way to hit back at him for neglecting her.
While this song is laden with the energy to help you self-assertedly move on from a disastrous ending, P!nk shows she’s clearly still obsessed with the guy, otherwise she wouldn’t be mobbed with the compulsion to fight not just him, but anyone.
4. Public Enemy – Fight The Power
One of the most influential songs in the history of rap, Fight The Power calls out institutional racism and the abuse of authority that stains any culture across the world.
Public Enemy rally you to challenge the system that contains you while drawing attention to the racism embedded deeply within society, “I’m black and I’m proud, I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped.
Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps… Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check.”
5. Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting
This 1974 hit captures a story of a kung fu fight while paying respect to the practice itself.
Carl Douglas slips in lines like “It’s an ancient Chinese art, and everybody knew their part,” to add some context, while illustrating a fury of child warriors performing as fast as lightning, “they were chopping them up, they were chopping them down.”
The song’s intro hook acts like a moment of focus, summoning energy before the fight, while the whole song is embellished with kung fu inspired “Hu’s” and “Ha’s.”
6. Brad Paisley ft. Demi Lovato – Without A Fight
Brad Paisley and Demi Lovato come together in their country collab, Without A Fight, to re-enact a conversation between a couple in conflict.
Their song translates to any couple that falls apart outside the bedroom and reaches a breaking point amidst the confusion of love tangled with war, “Good as we are at getting’ it on, how come we just can’t get along.”
This is a song about being aware of the anger you take out on your partner and fighting to make positive changes instead, like “I got a crazy idea, how about tonight we make up without a fight.”
While most songs on this list are about fighting to move on, Without A Fight is for anyone who needs to start adopting the role of peace-maker instead.
7. Avril Lavigne- Keep Holding On
Keep Holding On is a song of comfort for anyone feeling defeated and seeking strength through the battle they endure. Clad in reassurance, her song is a shining light when fighting through the darkest days of grief, trauma, breakup or illness.
Avril Lavigne’s early tracks are known for their realistic approach; her coarse pop rock tone is matched with courage which cuts through the fog that may settle over any battlefield.
Keep Holding On calls directly to you, like the person you may have lost, with a ceaseless message of hope; “Keep holding on, ‘cause you know we’ll make it through.”
8. The Clash – I Fought The Law
The Clash’s I Fought The Law is a trademark song about fighting authority. With authentic, rampant punk attitude, they sing from prison of their losing battle against the law after an armed robbery.
The song’s battering drums sound like gunshots right on cue, their expulsion of energy mimicking the feeling of running free from cops through the littered city streets.
9. Disturbed – A Reason To Fight
Disturbed’s melodic metal track A Reason To Fight simmers with an inspiring message of endurance. Although their fight is against inner demons, it’s open-ended approach letting you place your own troubles at the core of the song’s meaning.
Their contrast of comforting verses and dominating choruses are enough to ignite your will to fight and be strong for yourself, “Don’t give in, you’ve fallen down but will rise again … Don’t let it take your soul, look at me take control … When there’s nothing left inside, there’s still a reason to fight.”
10. Cheryl Cole – Fight For This Love
Fight For This Love is about the commitment it takes to push your relationship to a better place, despite the headache of taking steps forward and steps back to get there.
Cheryl’s lyrics fight with themselves as if finding compromise in a relationship, “Is it better, is it worse? Are we sitting in reverse? It’s just like we’re going backwards,” before the track is instilled with a lasting affirmation, “Anything that’s worth having is sure enough worth fighting for.”
Dressed in military uniform dyed deep red to represent the depths of her love, Cheryl’s song is a girl-power anthem of fighting to keep the person you love through every hardship that batters you.