"Fight Like a Brave" is the first track from American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 funk rock

Funk rock

Funk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...

 band Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

' album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

The Uplift Mofo Party Plan is the third studio album by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 29, 1987 on EMI America Records...

. It was released as the lead single for the album. Despite being a single, the song has not been performed live since 1989 though according to a magazine it was played once in 1991 though the setlist info remains missing and unconfirmed. The single also included a cover of the Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...

 classic, "Fire" as a b-side. It would later appear on The Abbey Road E.P.

The Abbey Road E.P.

The Abbey Road is an EP by Red Hot Chili Peppers, released in 1988 through EMI America. Out of the five tracks included on this EP, four had already been previously-released on the band's studio albums. The only new track is a cover of the song "Fire" by Jimi Hendrix, which was recorded during the...

 and Mother's Milk

Mother's Milk

Mother's Milk is the fourth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989, on EMI America Records. It was the first album to feature the band's most well-known lineup...

 as a tribute to guitarist Hillel Slovak

Hillel Slovak

Hillel Slovak ‏ was an Israeli-American musician best known as the original guitarist and founding member of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...

, who died in 1988.

Composition

Most of the song's lyrics revolve around Anthony Kiedis

Anthony Kiedis

Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,...

' addiction to heroin. At the lowest point in Kiedis' addiction, Flea

Flea (musician)

Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...

 had kicked him out of the Chili Peppers with no intention of letting him back in unless he was proven sober. After getting clean through various rehab programs, he called Flea to tell him of his success, and was accepted back in the band. On the plane ride home, Kiedis wrote this song about his struggles with drugs and his overcoming them.

The song is mostly an attempt to inspire other people like the rehab sessions were motivational for Kiedis to abandon the drugs. Kiedis described "Fight Like a Brave" as "a metaphor for trying to encourage someone who feels as though they don't have a chance [as though] they're grovelling in the gutter of life." He also said the song expressed the band's discontentment with EMI

EMI

The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

, their label at the time.

"Fight Like a Brave" is featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, often abbreviated to THPS3, is a skateboarding video game in the Tony Hawk's series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2001 for the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation. In 2002, it was published for the...

.

"Fight Like a Brave" is featured in the 1986 movie Tough Guys.

A portion of the song's lyrics, "No one can tell you you've got to be afraid" was also used by Bradley Nowell

Bradley Nowell

Bradley James Nowell was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the Californian band Sublime. He died at the age of 28 from a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.Raised in Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an...

 in the Sublime

Sublime (band)

Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...

 song "All You Need".

Track listing

7" single (1987)

1. "Fight Like a Brave (album)"
2. "Fire"

12" single (1987)

1. "Fight Like a Brave (Not Our Mix)"
2. "Fight Like a Brave (Boner Beats Mix)"
3. "Fight Like a Brave (Mofo Mix)"
4. "Fire"

12" Pic Disc/12" Promo (1987)

1. "Fight Like a Brave (Mofo Mix)"
2. "Fight Like a Brave (Knucklehead Mix)"
3. "Fire"