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Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds? (...)
I need a hero!
I'm holding out for a hero till 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

"Holding Out for a Hero" is a 1984 song written by Jim Steinman and recorded by Bonnie Tyler, used as a soundtrack for the film Footloose. In a similar situation to "Total Eclipse of the Heart", while the song is a desperate but otherwise Silly Love Song, the video is quite different. It can be seen here.

The song is a Trope Namer for Holding Out for a Hero.


"Holding Out for These Tropes":

  • Cowboy: There are outlaw cowboys dressed in black, and a good cowboy dressed in white, and all of them ride on horseback.
  • Damsel in Distress: Bonnie is quite the proverbial one in Western style, calling out to the angels for help and invoking them to send a Knight in Shining Armor to save her.
  • Evil Wears Black: The evil outlaw cowboys dress up in black and threaten her.
  • Fan Vid: The song is an immensely popular choice for fan videos of Big Damn Heroes moments.
  • Foreshadowing: At the beginning of the video, Bonnie sings, "Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?" Minutes later, her question is answered... in the form of a white-clad hero cowboy on a white steed.
    • Also, his appearance is portrayed in a picture frame foreshadowing his arrival about a second before she takes it.
  • For the Evulz: These outlaw cowboys burn down Bonnie's house and attack her just for fun.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: Blink and you miss it, but there is a picture frame that shows a monochrome picture of a cowboy in white seconds before Bonnie takes it in her bedroom—-a Foreshadowing of the proverbial Knight in Shining Armor.
  • Gold and White Are Divine: The angelic backup singers dance around wearing white dresses with a bit of gold around the collars and the edges.
  • Good Colors, Evil Colors: The hero cowboy on a white horse and the angels represent good and wear white, while the outlaw cowboys and their black horses represent evil and wear black.
  • Hellish Horse: The demonic outlaw cowboys ride on these black horses in their battle with the angelic white cowboy.
  • Hollywood Darkness: While the night is totally black when Bonnie's house burns up, the Mounted Combat between the two cowboy types has the night being lit in blue by the full moon, and shadows are still strongly apparent.
  • Horseback Heroism: The white cowboy Knight in Shining Armor rides a white horse in his effort to rescue Bonnie.
  • House Fire: The video starts with Bonnie's house being set on fire, and Bonnie runs out to escape the imminent destruction.
  • Knight in Shining Armor: In this case, a heroic cowboy knight in angelic white armor on a white horse, which is also mentioned in the song.
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: What's unusual is that the outlaws' neon whips are enough to start a fire. Who knows?
  • Mounted Combat: It's the white hero cowboy on a white horse vs. the black outlaws on black horses. And the white cowboy shoots the black riders one by one.
  • Music Video Overshadowing: Song: A woman desperately waits for a hero to rescue her and love her in return. Video: Bonnie's house gets set on fire by demonic outlaw cowboys, and she escapes from her home and gets surrounded by these cowboys and calls for help, invoking the angel choirs to help her hold out until an angelic hero cowboy arrives on horseback to drive the outlaw cowboys away.
  • One-Man Army: Downplayed, as it's the white hero cowboy in Mounted Combat against an army of three black-clad outlaw cowboys, all on horseback.
  • Our Angels Are Different: These female angels wear white, and they invoke a choir of angelic singing for a cowboy hero to show up.
  • Outlaw: The demonic cowboys are quite the bunch in burning down Bonnie's house and threatening her with neon whips.
  • Precious Photo: The photo that Bonnie takes from the nightstand in her bedroom is that of a white-clad hero cowboy, indicating that she is anticipating his return from far away.
  • Revolvers Are Just Better: The hero cowboy's revolver is definitely better than the outlaws' neon whips, and it is enough to shoot these riders off their hellish horses one by one.
  • The Wild West: The main setting for the music video.
  • Whip of Dominance: The demonic outlaw cowboys use glowing neon whips to frighten Bonnie.
  • White Stallion: The white hero cowboy rides on one, signifying good.

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