The Meaning Behind the Extravagant “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler declares her needs in the chorus, through the famous I need a hero. She wishes for the man to be strong and merciless, yet gentle to her. But again, due to her fantastical demands, she realizes this is improbable.

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong, and he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure, and it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life Larger than life

“Holding Out for a Hero” also gives off an aura of lost love, or love too far out of reach, as Tyler indulges in a fantasy scenario.

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy Somewhere, just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me

Racing on the thunder
And rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet, yeah

On the final verse, Tyler’s fantasies are not far out of reach, though she seems to have fully enveloped herself in them. Her idea of a “hero” begins to coarse through her veins, perhaps implying that she is becoming her own savior.

Footloose (1984)

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above / Out where the lightning splits the sea / I could swear there is someone, somewhere watching me / Through the wind and the chill and the rain /
And the storm and the flood / I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood —Like a fire in my blood, like a fire in my blood Like a fire in my blood, like a fire in my blood, blood.

When hearing “Holding Out for a Hero” for the first time, a face-off between two teenage boys on tractors is the last thing that comes to mind, but that’s exactly what Paramount Pictures envisioned for its use in Footloose.

The film, released in 1984, stars Kevin Bacon as Ren McCormack, a small-town transplant from Chicago who attempts to overturn the town-wide ban on dancing. The movie was directed by Herbert Ross and written by Dean Pitchford. It also famously features Kenny Loggins’ original theme song of the same name, “Footloose.”

As for the scene where “Holding Out for a Hero’” plays, Ren settles a fight with Chuck, and they play a game of chicken on tractors. Whoever is first to abandon “ship” wins. Ren ends up winning due to his shoelace wrapping around the brake, causing him to get dangerously close to Chuck and willing him off his tractor into a ravine. A quintessentially small town, and teenaged, scene that’s unsurprisingly suitable for a song as high-spirited and fun as “Holding Out for a Hero.”

Further Impact

“Holding Out for a Hero” would go on to be featured in a handful of other movies and television shows, such as Loki, Euphoria, and Shrek 2. Each of them stays true to the song’s original use, with the song often soundtracking over-the-top and energetic scenes.

While “Holding Out for a Hero” is distinctly, and unapologetically, an embodiment of the ’80s, this does not date the song, as it was purposely made to be lighthearted, and soundtrack a ridiculous scene. It now has an intragenerational following, where many look back on the song fondly for its no-holds-barred conception.

Bonnie Tyler still makes music today, and has written an autobiography, Straight From The Heart.

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