Sure, this song is fun to play and dance to, but did you know that this 1978 #1 hit is actually about injustice? According to Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, one of the songwriters, “The subject matter of Stayin’ Alive is actually quite a serious one; It’s about survival in the streets … and the lyrics actually say that.”
We face several existential planetary crises today – from injustice, to the climate crisis, to the current pandemic. We hope that this song will inspire listeners to stand up for justice, tell the truth, and be kind to others.
(For the music trivia nerds reading this: Stayin’ Alive was the first time a drum loop was used on a recording. The Bee Gees sampled the drum track from another song on the same album, Night Fever, and used a two-bar loop through the whole song! Here’s an interesting interview with the producer, Albhy Galuten.)
Score and Learning Tools
(mp3 of our arrangement coming soon – below was arranged by Alex Quaintance)