Posted 4:46 PM by John A. Seafisk

I Won't Back Down

One song I've been listening to an awful lot lately is Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down". To clarify, this is not a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers song, as it is from the Heartbreakers-less Petty album "Full Moon Fever", even though Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell appears on it. The song & the album is produced by Jeff Lynne, former leader of ELO (Electric Light Orchestra), and George Harrison appears on "I Won't Back Down", as well. This is a pre-cursor to the Traveling Wilburys period, the supergroup made up of Petty, Lynne, Harrison, Bob Dylan & Roy Orbison.

"Full Moon Fever" definitely has a Wilbury sound, thanks to Lynne, who also produced Harrison's "Cloud Nine". In return, both Petty & Harrison made appearance on Lynne's solo album "Armchair Theatre", a very-underrated effort. All of this came about in the late '80s-early '90s.

Why am I listening to a song that's at least 10 years old? It's called rediscovery of music. We all get in certain musical moods...one week, I feel like Pink Floyd; the next, I need some Beck; the following, it's the Beastie Boys. I'm currently helping a friend get further into the Beatles, especially after a recent performance by The Fab Four, a very good Beatles cover band. Of course, I'm only into the later Beatles, from "Revolver" onwards, right about when they started doing more drugs. I in no way advocate drug use, but "Sgt. Pepper" and The White Album are definitely more musically interesting than "Twist & Shout". And I really don't think it was all because of amphetamines, barbituates & hallucinogens.

Anyway, here's what I've been singing to myself when I need to unwind, as opposed to taking my frustrations out on any walls:


Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You can 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
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
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down
No, I won't back down


If I knew how to do wav. files or mp3s, I could link it here. But I don't. And although I enjoy Mr. Petty's musical contributions, I am in no financial state to pay any royalties. In fact, I may be violating copyrights by positng the lyrics.

Eh, stick it to the man, I say! Power to the People!