Holding Out for a Hero
Holding Out for a Hero is a 1984 song by Bonnie Tyler, written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford. The song is part of the soundtrack of the film Footloose.
History
Holding Out for a Hero was released as a single on April 13, 1984; the original length is 4:22 minutes. The instrumental version of the song is 5:15 minutes long; several remix versions of the song were also released. In 1986, Tyler released the song on her album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire.
The line "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?/Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?" is taken from Ubi sunt, and some parts of Jim Steinman's Stark Raving Love were also sampled; in the song's plot, the protagonist pleads for a hero to save her. The track is used in the television series Superman - The Adventures of Lois & Clark and Drawn Together as well as in the soundtrack of the films Bandits! , Shrek 2 and Who Is Harry Crumb?
Cover versions
- 1984: Miki Asakura 麻倉未稀 (ヒーロー) 7.5.1984 King Record Co. Ltd. Japan
- 1994: Meat Loaf
- 2004: Imogen Heap
- 2004: Jennifer Saunders
- 2004: Joss Stone
- 2005: Emery
- 2005: Angelika Milster (Where are the heroes)
- 2007: Graveworm
- 2008: Andrew Spencer (I Need a Hero)
- 2008: Mainstreet (I schoit mei Hirn o)
- 2011: Sopor Aeternus
- 2012: Glee Cast
- 2014: Grailknights, Van Canto
- 2015: Nothing but Thieves
