What the song is about
The song speaks directly to someone who feels scared and nervous. It describes the physical signs of fear (shaking hands, a fast heartbeat) and promises that the feeling will not last. Step by step, the singer encourages the listener to breathe, step into the light and find the courage inside. The message is simple: the hero is you.
Useful words and expressions
Feelings of fear
- to tremble: to shake because you are afraid or cold
- afraid / nervous: feeling fear or worry
- worries: things that make you anxious (worries are heavy)
- your confidence fades: you slowly lose your belief in yourself
- brave / bold / fearless: not afraid, ready to act
- strong: having strength, in body or in mind
- courage: the ability to do something that frightens you
- power: the ability to do something
- to weather the storm: to get through a difficult time without giving up
- to take the bull by the horns: to face a problem directly and with determination
- to look in your heart: to think about what you really feel and believe
- Take a deep breath: breathe in slowly to calm down
- everything is all right: everything is OK
Grammar
Imperatives for encouragement. Many lines give advice using the base form of the verb: Take a deep breath, step in the light, stand up, just look in the mirror. The negative imperative uses don't: Don't be afraid.
Can for ability and possibility. You can be strong, you can be brave. After can, the verb stays in its base form (be, not to be).
Be going to for the future. This nervous feeling is not going to last is a prediction about the future.
It's + adjective + to-infinitive. It's hard to be fearless, it's hard to be bold. This pattern describes how difficult or easy something is. Compare: It's time to take the bull by the horns.
A gerund as the subject. Finding your courage is where you must start. The -ing form works like a noun here: "finding your courage" is the thing that is the starting point.
Must for strong advice. where you must start means this is the necessary first step.
Careful: words bent for the song
- Riding the water and surfing the wave: "riding the water" is not a usual expression. People say riding the waves. The line is shaped for rhythm and the rhyme brave / wave.
- step in the light: in everyday English, step into the light is more natural when you mean moving from darkness into light.
- stand up so tall: the usual phrase is stand tall. The extra so fills the rhythm.
- storm / horns is only a near rhyme. The idiom itself is correct: take the bull by the horns.