- Heather Alexander's March of Cambreadth
Midnight mare and blood-red roan
Fight to keep these lands your own
Sound the horn and call the cry
How many of them can we make die?
- Slipknot on (sic) has "You can't kill me cause I'm already INSIDE YOU!"
- The Switch and the Spur by The Raconteurs
Any poor souls, who trespass against us
Whether it be beast or man
Will suffer the bite, or be stung dead on sight
By those who inhabit this land
For theirs is the power and this is their kingdom
As sure as the sun does burn
So enter this path, but heed these four words:
You shall never return
- "Sophia" by the Cruxshadows
Do not injustice to another
Defend the weak and innocent
Let truth and honor always guide you
Let courage find a life within
Stand up when no-one else is willing
Act not in hatred or in spite
Be to this world as a perfect knight
Even if it means your life
- The Impossible Dream:
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
- In fact, the whole song is his Badass Creed.
- As are the opening and the finale.
- One might say the whole musical is.
- It loses its rhyme in translation to English, but there's an old children's rhyme for the holiday of Hannukah:
We have come to expel darkness.
In our hands are light and flame.
Every one of us is a small light.
And all of us are a firm light.
Fight darkness, drive back blackness!
Fight for the cause of the light!
- The electronic dance song "Stop the Revolution" by D. Ramirez and Meat Katie:
You cannot restrain or tame an idea with idle threats.
Once it has crept into the mind, the mouth will not bite the tongue to keep it in silence.
The sheer promise of bondage and whips will not be enough to apprehend a thought as it travels from ear to misinformed ear.
We will protest, because you cannot tell a concept not to raise its fist in anger!
You cannot censor that which only exists in theory!
You cannot tell anarchy to stop in its tracks, when its feet only exist in the minds of the oppressed!
There is a force out there, greater than the media, greater than right or left, greater than empty lies or promises!
You can try all night to stop the noise... but you'll never stop the Revolution.
- "Prisoner of Our Time", "Branded and Exiled", "Chains and Leather"... Like many old school metal bands, Running Wild had many of these on it's earlier releases. Here's a example from "Branded and Exiled":
Many relocated all across the land
Together we've got the power in our hands
We are strong enough to fight mendacious laws
We've got the wrath, 'cause we are
Branded and exiled
Together, we can stand the night!
Branded and exiled
Together, we can stand the night!
- The Incredible String Band — My Name is Death
I am the question that cannot be answered,
I am the lover that cannot be lost,
Yet small are the gifts of my servant; the soldier,
For time is my offspring; pray, what is my name?
My name is Death.
- Justifying note: Far from being a harsh metal song, this is a rather unsettling Folk song.
- Iron Maiden has many:
- One of note is "Die With Your Boots On,"
No point asking when it is,
No point asking who's to go,
No point asking what's the game,
No point asking who's to blame,
'Cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,
'Cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,
If you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,
If you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,
If you're gonna die, die with your boots on,
If you're gonna try, well stick around,
Gonna cry, just move along,
If you're gonna die, you're gonna die.
- Then, from "Sun and Steel,"
Sunlight, falling on your steel,
Death in life is your ideal,
Life is like a wheel.
- And, from "Flash of the Blade,"
You'll die as you lived
In a flash of the blade
In a corner forgotten by no-one
You lived for the touch
For the feel of the steel
One man, and his Honour.
- And of course The Trooper
You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back
The bugle sounds as the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath
As you plunge into a certain death
The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall
We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And as the Russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We won't live to fight another day
We get so close near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds takes my horse below
And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan
- Victory Song — Ensiferum
Ei urhot kaukaisen pohjolan
Uhan eess?aipuneet
J?een pauhaa kansi taivahan
Veri valuu maahan lumiseen
Moni n??i saa en?huomista
Moni j?heit?aipaamaan
J?ipolville j?maa rauhaisa
Voiton laulut soi ainiaan
Translated:
The warriors of the north
Stood strong against aggression
Again the thunder rumbles
Blood stains the snow
Many will not see tomorrow
Many will be missed
But the land remains safe for our children
And songs of victory will sound forever
- The Show Must Go On, by Queen.
The Show must go on!
The Show must go on! Yeah,yeah!
Ooh! Inside my heart is breaking!
My make-up may be flaking...
But my smile, still, stays on!
My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies,
Fairy tales of yesterday, will grow but never die,
The Show must go on! Yeah!
The Show must go on!
I'll face it with a grin!
I'm never giving in!
I'll top the bill!
I'll overkill!
I have to find the will to carry on!
On with the,
The Show must go on.
And the kicker? Brian May wrote this for Freddie Mercury, when people questioned if he could 'go on', considering his health was failing because of his battle with AIDS. Acording to
, May wasn't sure that Freddie would be able to sing the song, his health was so bad. Freddie's response? He took a swig of vodka and said
. May says he considers this
.
- The Fire Dawn, by Oh Sleeper, exudes this trope. IN SPADES!
Stand up, we'll be more than kings.
Show no mercy when the gates swing.
I've said it before but without accepting that my body
Was the only thing keeping me from living.
I wouldn't even let the surgeon touch me.
Though facing death, I dined on flesh...
But now I live to fight out-numbered.
I live to fight out-numbered at the fire dawn to live in rebellious honor.
I'll stand, you'll see me over all of your fallen.
I'll be knee-deep, knee-deep in a sea of their organs.
Send me all of hell and I'll face them,
I'll face them one on one-thousand.
- Most, if not all, Professional Wrestling Theme Music.
- Enter Shikari's Badass Creed in "Juggernauts" also acts as a complete Crowning Moment of Awesome:
We'll do what we've always done
Shut our eyes and hope for the best...
NO! We're gonna face this
And step out onto the tracks
Stare it right in the face
THOU SHALL NOT PASS!
- Army of the Dead Part I
/II and Odin by Manowar.
Raise thy weapons on this day
Fight and die let Valkyries fly
For they shall take thee home
I promise thee that on this night
Asgard's halls await with heroes
For thee we wait at Asgard's gates
Valhalla waits so choose thy fate
For all of us must die!
- This excerpt that appears in the Manowar songs The Warrior's Prayer and Glory, Majesty, Unity :
Gods of war I call You. My sword is by my side.
I seek a life of honor, free from all false pride.
I will crack the whip with a bold mighty hail.
Cover me with death if I should ever fail.
Glory, Majesty, Unity
Hail, Hail, Hail
- Pretty much any Manowar song, actually. Here's one from Sons of Odin :
Glory and fame
Blood is our name
Souls full of thunder, hearts of steel
Killers of men!
A warrior's friend!
Sworn to avenge our fallen brothers, to the end!
- Even more to the point, the band itself has one: "Death to false metal".
- "Morituri", by Robin Wayne Bailey:
Let us live short lives of glory
Let us burn bright like a flame
And when the gods call, let the poets remember our names!
- Level 70/80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, 'The Power of the Horde'
Surrounded by the enemy
The wolf among the hounds
Thunder turns to silence, it took...
A hundred to bring me down
Wolf-brothers falling at my side
With honor I will die
Upon the altar of the storms
I will be reborn
- All That Remains has several, but the song "Some of the People , All of the Time" exeplifies it:
When all seems lost we count the cost
We still remain connected
We'll be made strong we are not wrong
we will not be neglected
Now Wake this doubt and cast it out
Weakness will be rejected
And through all wrongs we must stay strong
We will not be neglected
- "The Gears" by Dethklok
We fear not our mortality
We'll serve to the best of our ability
We give our lives to our masters
We vow to smite our enemies
- Andrew W.K.'s "Get Ready to die" is one massive Badass Creed combined with a Badass Boast.
This is your time to pay,
This is your judgement day,
We made a sacrifice,
And now we get to take your life.
We shoot without a gun,
We'll take on anyone,
It's really nothing new,
It's just a thing we like to do.
- Andrew gets another crazy-awesome one that encompasses the ending of "Totally Stupid". Might double as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming for some.
If we wait until tomorrow
Will tomorrow ever come?
This is where we're coming from
And we're not the only ones
When we find ourselves in trouble
We can find outselves a way
You can find a place to stay
And the place is always safe
If you have a heart that's in pain
Don't be afraid
You're not to blame
There's a better world inside of us
Where we always thought it was
You don't need to hide
You can open up your eyes
And you'll discover
That there is another world.
- “Indestructible” by Disturbed - the whole song is one big Badass Creed
- The Protomen provide one to Mega Man in "The Will of One". It gets a lot darker in "The Sons of Fate".
And as I live
There is no evil that will stand
And I will finish
What was started
The fight of Protoman!
- One from Within Temptation: "Why Not Me."
Some may call it a curse
A life like mine
But others, a blessing
It's certainly a lonely life
But a fulfilling one and the best
It's my cross to bear
And I'll bear it gladly
Someone has to take a stand against evil
Why should it not be me?
- Clutch has many songs that qualify, but "High Caliber Consecrator" is a particularly straightforward example:
We'll thresh the psyche, and till the pride
Distill the blood, proclaim the gun divine
Damn the foul ego, praise the promised swarm
We are the ploughshare, and yet we are the sword
