Eye of the Tiger

Verse 1
Rising up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

Chorus
It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all
With the eye of the tiger

Verse 2
Face to face, out in the heat
Hanging tough, staying hungry
They stack the odds 'til we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive

Chorus
It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all
With the eye of the tiger

Verse 3
Rising up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive

Chorus
It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all
With the eye of the tiger

Outro
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger

“Eye of the Tiger”, the most well-known song by Survivor, held the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks in the summer of 1982 and topped charts in several other countries including Canada, Japan, Norway, Finland, Australia and the UK. It also won the band a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo Or Group with Vocal.

Written by guitarist Frankie Sullivan and keyboardist Jim Peterik, the lyrics describe someone training hard to overcome hardships – fitting well its original intention, on the training montage of Rocky III. It has since become an anthem of sports events, particularly fighting ones, and is tied with “Gonna Fly Now” for Rocky Balboa’s theme song.

Accoring to The Billboard Book Of Number 1 Hits, within 90 minutes of seeing an early tape of the film, the band had written the song written. They based the title and lyrics on a line repeated several times by a boxing trainer in the film – “eye of the tiger.”