Notes on "Freedom Fighters," Todd Rundgren's Utopia
"Tucked away in the darkest cupboard of your heart
there's a feeling you can't let out
In a way, you are just a soldier of the mind
You are marching, what are you marching about?
On your mark, now get set
Get back on your feet,
We ain't down yet!
You know we will get it
So don't you forget it
That the world rolls on...
Your reward will come
It's just a question of how and when
Look around, everyone is wondering where it's at
Do you wonder, or do you know?
Clap your hands! Raise your voice!
Some people will hide
They can't stand the noise
But we're freedom fighters
And we've got no choice....
But the world rolls on...
And the truth will come and the change will come
It's just a question of how and when
I can't believe my eyes.
In a way, you are just a soldier of the mind
In a way, you are just a soldier of the mind
On your mark, now get set
Get back on your feet,
We ain't down yet!
We're all freedom fighters -
And don't you forget it!
That the world rolls on... "
recorded by Todd Rundgren's Utopia
Lyrics copyright EMI Music Publishing
When this song came out, many critics dismissed it as trivial. I didn't. It spoke to me. I was what is charitably known as a "troubled teenager," and one of my troubles was an entrenched case of self-doubt nourished by well-meaning relatives who didn't want to see me get frustrated trying to do things they thought I couldn't do.
There was a lot of anger and frustration tucked away in dark cupboards of my heart, and it took a long while to find it and deal with it appropriately.
But this song helped maintain my will to persevere despite tall challenges - like taking Nuclear Science 2351 without, strictly speaking, having all the math prerequisites (I was taking them at the same time as the NucSci course).
I got a D at mid-term and decided to dig in my heels - I learned more math in that course doing the work than I have in any math course before or since. In fact, the understanding of statistics I took away from Nuclear Science 2351 has stood me in good stead professionally ever since, as a medical writer/researcher and as a clinical data analyst.
I blew the final in that course away, despite some of the problems in the course involving functions with about twenty variables, some of which had to be found in the Chart of the Nuclides (such as neutron capture cross-sections) in tiny print, prefaced by tiny greek italics denoting which variable was involved.
I aced it. I got an A on that final. I finished with a C for the course. And I am prouder of that C in Nuclear Science 2351 than I am of all the As I have gotten in the rest of my college coursework. The A's I got because writing is second nature to me. I EARNED that C, through sweat, hard work, and belief in myself as a soldier of the mind.
Thanks, Todd Rundgren, Utopia and Dr. Ronald Knaus.
there's a feeling you can't let out
In a way, you are just a soldier of the mind
You are marching, what are you marching about?
On your mark, now get set
Get back on your feet,
We ain't down yet!
You know we will get it
So don't you forget it
That the world rolls on...
Your reward will come
It's just a question of how and when
Look around, everyone is wondering where it's at
Do you wonder, or do you know?
Clap your hands! Raise your voice!
Some people will hide
They can't stand the noise
But we're freedom fighters
And we've got no choice....
But the world rolls on...
And the truth will come and the change will come
It's just a question of how and when
I can't believe my eyes.
In a way, you are just a soldier of the mind
In a way, you are just a soldier of the mind
On your mark, now get set
Get back on your feet,
We ain't down yet!
We're all freedom fighters -
And don't you forget it!
That the world rolls on... "
recorded by Todd Rundgren's Utopia
Lyrics copyright EMI Music Publishing
When this song came out, many critics dismissed it as trivial. I didn't. It spoke to me. I was what is charitably known as a "troubled teenager," and one of my troubles was an entrenched case of self-doubt nourished by well-meaning relatives who didn't want to see me get frustrated trying to do things they thought I couldn't do.
There was a lot of anger and frustration tucked away in dark cupboards of my heart, and it took a long while to find it and deal with it appropriately.
But this song helped maintain my will to persevere despite tall challenges - like taking Nuclear Science 2351 without, strictly speaking, having all the math prerequisites (I was taking them at the same time as the NucSci course).
I got a D at mid-term and decided to dig in my heels - I learned more math in that course doing the work than I have in any math course before or since. In fact, the understanding of statistics I took away from Nuclear Science 2351 has stood me in good stead professionally ever since, as a medical writer/researcher and as a clinical data analyst.
I blew the final in that course away, despite some of the problems in the course involving functions with about twenty variables, some of which had to be found in the Chart of the Nuclides (such as neutron capture cross-sections) in tiny print, prefaced by tiny greek italics denoting which variable was involved.
I aced it. I got an A on that final. I finished with a C for the course. And I am prouder of that C in Nuclear Science 2351 than I am of all the As I have gotten in the rest of my college coursework. The A's I got because writing is second nature to me. I EARNED that C, through sweat, hard work, and belief in myself as a soldier of the mind.
Thanks, Todd Rundgren, Utopia and Dr. Ronald Knaus.
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