"Rise Up" Snippet
Song review from Popcart.co.uk:
At the end of the film, ‘Rise Up’ the track which Beyoncé has recorded for the soundtrack begins – thankfully, there’s no waiting around for it to appear unlike was the case with ‘Oz The Great And Powerful‘. Anyway, ‘Rise Up’ is a mid-tempo, acoustic track that is led with the guitar during the verses. There are other elements deployed during the chorus but these were difficult to trace over the hustle of the cinema screen reawakening.
Lyrically, the track matches the overarching themes of the movie with references to being brave and strong despite adversity. Beyoncé‘s delivery is mostly soft and restrained and builds to a crescendo with the final line “we will rise” before the track fades out with around thirty seconds of acoustic guitar led instrumental. It feels grand and ambitious, there is that familiar, timeless quality that accompanies songs that are the themes to blockbusting films. The track was co-written by Beyoncé and the beyond incredible Sia. It is glorious and unmistakably Sia in terms of structure and the overarching sound, whilst Beyonce’s vocal performance owns and dominates the song entirely – it is powerful, emotive and offers encouragement.
We managed to glean some of the lyrics but it was tricky to understand given the mass exodus from the screen, so obviously these lyrics are simple phrases and do not constitute the structure of the song – it was a simple attempt to scrabble down any lyrics possible. Various lines include…
“I’ll keep you safe from harm
Warrior, stand and be proud be who you are
Rise up,
we will fight, we will fight and together we will rise
Fight for you and me look into my eyes and believe
I see you and me take my hand
We are one
We will rise I see you
What we see is what we are
We will rise”
