Embracing the dark of night
Ignoring the cold
Standing out there, on the edge of life
Keeping watch over this world

In the darkness above the city lights
Defending its soul
The time has come now to fight for what is right
Guarding this land, it's time to take a stand

Descending to shadowlands
Where you stand alone to face your foe
Facing up to the fears that you hold
Way down deep in your soul

They'll never see that this fight sets you free
Won't understand what it takes to be a man
As you struggle to reconcile just who you are
With what you believe, the cause you hold in your hand
It's time to take a stand

You're a fighting man
Make a difference, take a stand
'Cause you're a fighting man
You're a fighting man
Make that difference, take that stand
'Cause you're a fighting man

It's that time of the night
You've got to show them you'll stay where you are
You've got to take that stand
It's time to bring on the fight
To stand up for whaat you believe to be true
It's time to take that stand

(Solo)

You're a fighting man
Make a difference, take a stand
'Cause you're a fighting man
You're a fighting man
Make that difference, take that stand
'Cause you're a fighting man

You're a fighting man
Make a difference, take a stand
'Cause you're a fighting man
You're a fighting man
Make that difference, take that stand
'Cause you're a fighting man

Written & Arranged by Harwood/Tennick © 2008

The Music
I had been keen for some time to do something in 12/8 - a time signature which Maiden have used to great effect, and FIGHTING MAN was the result of that. This was another song which grew out of the bass part. Instead of going straight in for the power I wanted to try a cleaner, more haunting guitar thing at the beginning and let the song build as it progresses, and this was one of those great times when the song more or less wrote itself, I believe during spring 2007. The basics of the whole thing were written in a day, but having done that, it took a while to sort those ideas out into something coherent.

When it came to lyrics and vocals, I probably didn't make things too easy for Graeme - I had a particular mood in mind for this, so there was no pressure there! Plus he was aware I was particularly fond of this track. I know this one was hard work for him, but the end result is something I'm very happy with.