Superman (It’s Not Easy) 2001 – Five For Fighting

Superman is the third song on Five for Fighting’s sophomore album, America Town (see image inset) and the second single released from it. It became a huge radio hit after the horrific 9/11 attacks and was used to honor the victims, survivors, police, and firefighters involved in the attacks. It peaked at No.14 on the Billboard, and was nominated for a Grammy in 2002. The single was a major hit in Australia (because we are more sentimental and mushy) and New Zealand, reaching number two on both countries’ national charts.

The lyrics focus on the iconic hero Superman; specifically, how, in the opinion of the singer, his life as a hero is surprisingly difficult despite his immense power. The song was featured in an episode of Smallville, which chronicled the life of a young Clark Kent/Superman. The American singer-songwriter Vladimir John Ondrasik said the song is about “frustration about the inability to be heard.”
At the end of the song’s music video (below), Ondrasik lies in bed with his own wife and son. Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty also makes a cameo appearance.

John Ondrasik also known by his stage name Five for Fighting was born (January 7, 1965), in Los Angeles, California, a child of a musical family. He is of Slovak descent. His mother was a piano teacher who taught at John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, where he graduated. He learned the piano as a child. In his teens, he learned to play the guitar and started to write music. You can read more about Ondrasik’s musical career here.

[Verse 1]
I can’t stand to fly
I’m not that naive
I’m just out to find
The better part of me

[Chorus]
I’m more than a bird, I’m more than a plane
I’m more than some pretty face beside a train
And it’s not easy to be me

[Verse 2]
I wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
‘Bout a home I’ll never see

[Chorus]
It may sound absurd, but don’t be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed, but won’t you concede?
Even heroes have the right to dream
And it’s not easy to be me

[Bridge]
Up, up, and away, away from me
Well, it’s alright
You can all sleep sound tonight
I’m not crazy or anything

[Verse 3]
I can’t stand to fly
I’m not that naive
Men weren’t meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

I’m only a man in a silly red sheet
Diggin’ for kryptonite on this one-way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Lookin’ for special things inside of me

References:
1. Superman (It’s Not Easy) – Wikipedia