Onward and Upward

Tommee Profitt's "Onward and Upward" builds its short, chant-like structure around a repeated call to rise — "Higher, farther, onward and upward" — that functions almost like a battle cry. The opening lines present a figure who is "second to none," "willing and able," and "King by fear and fable," language that carries both royal authority and a hint of legend. The second stanza turns interrogative, asking who will call this lord, who will kneel, who will take up the sword and lay down his life. That question of costly allegiance gives the song its tension: the ascent is not passive but demands a response. The repetition of the refrain suggests a marching rhythm, a movement forward rather than a settled meditation. The lyrics don't develop a narrative so much as circle a single posture of devotion and resolve. The sword-and-kneeling imagery places the song in a register of lordship and surrender, where the upward call is answered by a downward bow. The brevity leaves room for the music to carry the weight, but the words themselves keep returning to the same hinge: who will answer, and at what price.