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"The Arena" is the third track and first single from Lindsey Stirling's third studio album, Brave Enough.
Composition[]
This song is inspired by the Theodore Roosevelt speech Citizenship in a Republic, or more specifically a quote from the speech (as follows).
"It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs,
who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to do the deeds;
who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who at the worst,
if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
This quote was the only thing said about The Arena on the Brave Enough official booklet.
In the video below Stirling expresses how she interpreted this through The Arena.
Live performances[]
Stirling performed The Arena for the first time on July 11, 2016 at The Dome at Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut.
The Arena was part of the setlist of the Brave Enough Tour from 2016 to 2017.
Trivia[]
- The song is instrumental, meaning it has no lyrics.
Music video[]
The official YouTube video was released on June 28, 2016.
| Music video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
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Released | June 28, 2016 |
| Length | 4:07 | |
| Director | ||
| Producer | ||
| Choreographer | Derek Hough | |
| Filmed | 2016 | |
| Location | ||
| YouTube views | 33+ Million views | |
Behind the scenes[]
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