In April of 2001, songwriter, John Ondrasik (aka Five for Fighting), released the now-U.S. Gold-certified song, “Superman (It’s Not Easy).” The song, which peaked at No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, saw regular rotation on pop radio stations and MTV, alike.
Videos by American Songwriter
But the track had a second life after the tragic 9/11 attacks when it became an anthem of healing throughout the nation’s recovery. “Superman” played to honor first responders, firefighters, police and many more for seemingly moths on end. We caught up with the author of that seminal song to ask Ondrasik about he first came to music and songwriting, how he wrote the track (and how long it shockingly took him!), what impact the song had on his career and much more.
How did you come tomusic as a young person? I believe you were born in Los Angeles to a musicalfamily, but how did music really enter your world then?
My mom was a piano teacher, so I grew up with the piano andshe started me very young at about three-years-old, just kind of playing. Thatgave me the fundamentals and then she sent me to someone else to take lessonsfrom because it’s hard to teach your kid. But she was wise. When I was 13 and14, or so, and wanted to do other things, she let me quit. But by then I’d hadthe fundamentals. My sister got a guitar for her 15th birthday andso I picked that thing up. I just had a love for writing songs. I probablywrote my first song at 15-years-old and conned my dad to buying me areel-to-reel Tascam 38 half-inch tape recorder and started making little demosin my room. I just fell in love with songwriting. It was my passion. I’ve beenvery blessed to be able to make a living at it.
At the time, were youwriting songs thinking it could be a career or were you mostly digging inbecause it was fun? Perhaps a balance of both?
I really wanted to do it. Especially in high school. I hadan English teacher who was a bass player and we would dissect Steely Danlyrics. So, I really wanted to do it. I knew the odds were long so I made sureI had some plan-B’s. But every free moment I had through my late teens and 20s,I was recording or writing or singing or doing something. It really was mypassion. My career is kind of a fluke. “Superman,” I was, jeez, let’s see, Iwas in my early 30s when that song hit, which is unheard of to have somebodyhave their first hit that old. So, it was kind of a miracle. But I guess it’san example of perseverance. Sometimes when you persevere, the stars alight.
What was the firstdraft like for “Superman,” and how did you refine the song?
You know, it sounds crazy and it doesn’t happen often, but Iliterally wrote “Superman,” with the exception of doubling up the secondpre-hook, I wrote the whole thing in less than an hour.
Wow!
It was a fluke. I wish I could say that about other songsbut it doesn’t happen – I kind of look at it as a gift. But, yeah, I sat downlike I’ve sat down 1,000 other times and that song came very quickly.Initially, I didn’t even think it was for me. I kind of fancy myself as arocker and a rock guy and here was this ballad. I thought it was a nice song,but my producer when we were making AmericaTown kept saying, “We have to record ‘Superman.’” To my ever-lastinggratitude, I took him up on it!
So, the song came outafter just a few chords, the lyrics just tumbled out?
Yeah, it kind of came that way. You know, I’m an advocate ofwriting a lot of songs. I’m not a prodigy songwriter so, to me, the more timesyou take a swing, the more chances you have to connect. So, during my 20s, I’dwrite 150-200 songs a year. Now I wouldn’t necessarily demo them all up. ButI’d at least start them, I’d get a sense of what they were and I’d put them inthe catalogue. I think with my development as a songwriter, that was crucial.And I was writing all different kinds of genres, too – pop, rock, even a littleR&B, even a little country. So, for me, it sounds kind of impressive. Yeah,I wrote “Superman” in an hour. But if you look at the thousands of songs beforethat most of them were really bad and then tens-of-thousands-of-hours justwriting songs, you know, you have to factor that in, too. That didn’t happen,say, with the song, “100 Years.” Certainly, that song didn’t come in an hour.It came in four months and 150 lines to get the 30 that you hear. That’s moretypical for me.
You can look at iteither like “Superman” took an hour to write or your whole life to write.
Yeah, it’s true. It takes your whole life to get there, tohave the confidence and to be comfortable with something so simple. “Superman”is such a simple song and sometimes it’s hard – the best songs sound very simplebut they’re not that easy to write. But to have the confidence to do somethingsimple and sweet and you have the concept, that takes a certain maturity as asongwriter. You have to write – at least, for me – a lot of songs to be able toget to that space.
Totally. And to havethat experience to know when to let something go, as well. If you thought“Superman” was simple, you also had to be able to let it live on its own andnot tamper with it, if that makes sense.
Yeah, that’s true. That’s, to me, one of the hardest thingsof putting on the editor hat or the critic hat, as well as the creative hat.And when do you stop? We’re not going to talk about “The Riddle” today but thatwas one of my other songs that was popular. That song I basically worked on fora year. And I still don’t think I really got it right. But at some point youhave to throw in the towel. But yeah knowing when to stop or when it’s notright, when to go back to the drawing board – that’s a skill. Sometimes youhave people around you that you trust that can give you insight. But at the endof the day, it’s your song. Knowing when to let it be and knowing when to keepgrinding, that’s part of crafting songs.
How did the song gofrom that initial one-hour draft to MTV and to becoming such an important songpost-9/11?
Again, so much of this is just fate and luck. “Superman” wasnot the first single of America Town.It was a song called, “Easy Tonight.” It was a number-one AAA song but itdidn’t sell any records. So, I think we only sold, like, 10,000 records. “EasyTonight” was just successful enough to get another shot, to get another single.And I remember the record company saying, “Alright, we’ll give you one more.But that’s basically it. If it’s not a hit, you’re done!” So, I had to thinkabout, “If there’s one song I’m going to go down in flames on, what will thatbe?” They warned me like, “Superman is a nice song” but this was, you know, the2000s, late 90s and there was no piano on the radio. Billie and Elton weren’t onpop radio anymore. It was grunge, Lilith Fair, boy bands. And I said, “If I’mgoing to go down, I’m going to go down with ‘Superman’.” Initially, radio wasvery skeptical saying it was too slow, had piano, too sentimental and theydidn’t really want to play it. I had a few champions but we pretty much got tothe point where the song was over. It just was one of those things where itstarted to work on a couple stations and then because it was different, itbecame a hit song. And after 9/11 it took another – I don’t even know what theword is, 20 years later I’m still trying to come up with that. Yeah, a certainstature within the country. But the weirdest thing was – I remember when“Superman” was struggling with radio, I got a call and they said, “Your song‘Superman’ is number-one in Singapore!” And then it’s number-one in thePhilippines. So, we got the sense that the song could be a big song because insome of these countries, it was the number-one song! So, it gave us a littleconfidence to just stay with it. But it was a long road. I think one reason whyit really became a standard was, at the time, there was nothing like it on theradio. It was different. Then all of a sudden the piano started coming back,not necessarily just because of my song. But certainly 9/11 and it being one ofthe songs that paid tribute to the fire fighters and the concert for New Yorkand all that stuff entrenched “Superman” in a way that no singer-songwriter couldever imagine. And I’m glad that song was there, I’m glad other songs like thatwere there. But, yeah, it’s wild and crazy.
Did the song evolvein your own mind over the years or did you hear from fans along the way whoexpressed how the song meant something to them in various ways?
Oh, yeah! I mean, that’s one of the wonderful things abouthaving a song that makes a difference in people’s lives. The thing about music,too, is that people take songs and make them their own and they apply them totheir lives and how they need them or want them – just like I do with myfavorite songs. “Superman” has been used in so many causes for autism,children’s charities. The interesting thing about “Superman” – this is a funnystory – is once it became a popular song, the record company called me andsaid, “Something very weird is happening with the record.” And I’m like, “Whatdo you mean?” They said, “Old people are buying your record.” And I’m like,“What do you mean old people are buying the record?” They’re like, “Yeah,people in their 30s and 40s are buying your record.” Which is funny now becauseI’m 55. We’re all ancient. But what they meant was teenagers buy records,that’s who drives records. But why were adults buying my record? I’ve kind offound out over the last 20 years doing keynotes or concerts or meet-and-greets,so many adults really related to “Superman” because people that are basicallyresponsible for families understand that it’s hard to be the rock all the time.You can’t be everything for everybody. You can’t be superman for everyone. Ithink it had a unique resonance with adults – and kids liked it to – that maybeother pop songs didn’t. I think that’s one reason why it had a certain placeand probably why it’s still relevant in a certain way today.
When you think about“Superman” now, is there something that you especially love most about thesong?
I just look at it as a gift. I don’t even feel like I wrote the song anymore. Because it came so fast and I didn’t spend those months pulling my hair our to get it right, I just look at it as a gift. The fact that it really shouldn’t have happened and I barely got a chance to get it out there and when it did – so many stars have to align for that song to reach people. As a songwriter, all you want is one thing: you want an opportunity to be heard. If people like you, great. If they don’t like you, great. But you just want a chance to be heard. And I’m so grateful that I had that chance to be heard with that song. It will always be my first born [Laughs]. I couldn’t write it today, to be honest with you. It’s not a song I could write today because the “it’s not easy to be me,” when you’re struggling in your late 20s and you feel the world’s against you and nobody will listen to you, you can write that song. But through “Superman,” I’ve met people with real challenges – our troops, ALS patients, autistic kids. It’s really kind of humbled me. I couldn’t write “Superman” today. I’ve found it’s actually pretty easy to be me but I’m glad the song is there for the world. It really, to me, is not even my song anymore. It’s for those who’ve embraced it.
