Great Forgotten Songs #91 – Thin Lizzy “Fighting My Way Back”

Phil Lynott

Thin Lizzy’s classic song “Fighting My Way Back” is from the album their fifth studio album “Fighting”, released in 1975. Following the release of four studio albums, the band finally forged an identifiable sound featuring the twin guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. This sound draws from hard rock, folk, pop and rhythm and blues. It set the stage for the big commercial breakthrough of the follow-up album, Jailbreak. The album was also their first album to chart in the UK, hitting No. 60.

Hear the song below:

Fighting is the only other Thin Lizzy album aside from their 1971 debut where band members other than Phil Lynott receive sole songwriting credits for certain tracks. Bell wrote “Ray Gun” on the debut, and Robertson and Gorham wrote “Silver Dollar” and “Ballad of a Hard Man”, respectively.

Europe guitarist John Norum covered “Wild One” on his 1987 debut solo album Total Control. Europe covered “Suicide” on their 2008 live album Almost Unplugged.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Fighting as a “tense, coiled, vicious rock & roll album”, with which Thin Lizzy began their classic era. Highlighting Gorham and Robertson’s twin-guitar interplay, he described this line-up as “vital and visceral”, and added that Lynott had made a leap forward as a songwriter, “fully flourishing as a rock & roll poet”.

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Rafael Polcaro: I'm a Brazilian journalist who always loved Classic Rock and Heavy Metal music. That passion inspired me to create Rock and Roll Garage over 6 years ago. Music has always been a part of my life, helping me through tough times and being a support to celebrate the good ones. When I became a journalist, I knew I wanted to write about my passions. After graduating in journalism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, I pursued a postgraduate degree in digital communication at the same institution. The studies and experience in the field helped me improve the website and always bring the best of classic rock to the world! MTB: 0021377/MG