“We will, we will rock you.”
Most of us perk up a bit the moment we hear those six words. Our head starts to nod a bit aggressively and we turn up the car stereo. We all love a good anthem, and there’s no denying that certain songs have helped shape our culture, our politics and for some, our view of ourselves and our place in this world. Certainly not all songs become anthems, but those that do share some qualities.
Intensity and energy are often the starting point for your average anthem. Expressing this intensity ranges from the loud driving intro to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” to the quieter intensity of the Cranberries’ epic “Zombie.” The beginning of the Nirvana song, “Come As You Are” expresses yet another version of intensity with a simple bass line pushed to the limit before totally distorting.
Often an anthem will contain a soaring melody. While the guitar predominantly rules this realm instrumentally, songs like “The Final Countdown” by the band Europe starts with an iconic keyboard line. Guns and Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” has perhaps one of the most recognized guitar licks of the last 50 years. No song displays a soaring melody more than Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” How many of us have sung along with Freddie Mercury or strained to reach the vocal heights of Steven Tyler in Aerosmith’s “Dream On?”
Tempo is a useful tool for building this intensity. If we look at one of the most iconic rock songs ever, “Stairway to Heaven,” we’ll notice the tempo increases throughout the song. This takes the listener from an ethereal beginning to a rock ‘n’ roll ending with a transition so smooth it’s barely noticeable. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin has said in interviews that this was no accident. Other hits that speed up include Christina Aguilera’s “Hurt” and Metallica’s epic heavy metal anthem “One.”
Lyrics, of course, are the most poignant and definitive quality of any anthem. From Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” the words are the gold. And after the songs about personal triumph, lost loves and memories, the most golden word of all when it comes to anthems is “we” — the expression of a unified front. Whether because of a common enemy or struggle, a common hope or human frailty, the anthem is about our commonality.
Most of us who love music have witnessed the moment when a large group of people are all combining their energy into the exact same thing. It gives you a sense of the strength that can come from unity. It is empowering and healing. The essence of the lyrics are often timeless.
“We will rock you” means exactly the same thing today as it always has, and it always will.
And the number-one surefire way to create an anthem? Have Freddie Mercury sing it.
