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Like A Butterfly is an original song from the album Influences.
Written, produced and with lyrics and vocals by Paul Robert Thomas
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A heartfelt tribute to Muhammad Ali, tracing his remarkable journey from his upbringing in Louisville to becoming the greatest boxer in history, his battles inside and outside the ring, and his enduring legacy as a global humanitarian.
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Like A Butterfly lyrics
He was born in Louisville on Grand Avenue
He wasn’t poor but also his family wasn’t well-to-do
His family life was happy and was stable
He said that there was always food on the table
He was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay
And would become the greatest boxer of his day
The greatest fighter that had ever been
One that I was privileged to have seen
At eighteen he’d won the Olympic Gold Medal in Rome
It was the first time he’d been away from home
In nineteen sixty four aged twenty two he took the world title from Sonny Liston
Afterwards he announced that he had converted to Islam
He changed his name to Muhammad Ali from Cassius Clay
He then defended his world title nine times in his inimitable unique way
When he refused to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War
They stripped him of his titles and wouldn’t let him box anymore
In nineteen sixty seven they sentenced him to five years in jail
But his lawyer kept him out of jail on appeal, free on bail
But for three and a half years he wasn’t allowed to fight
Until they overturned his unjust conviction and saw the light
Joe Frazier had his crown and Ali wanted it back
The only way to beat Smokin’ Joe was to go on the attack
But he was like a street fighter who would never easily quit
Ali would have to try to wear him down bit by bit
Ali had tried to regain his title from Frazier in nineteen seventy one
But he was defeated in the battle, Joe Frazier won
Then George Foreman beat Frazier and the stage was set
For Ali’s showdown with Foreman in one of the most amazing fights yet
Ali put on extra pounds of fat around his waist
As Foreman was the most ferocious fighter he would ever face
With Ali’s rope-a-dope plan Foreman punched himself out and then crumbled
At the Rumble in the Jungle, Foreman went down and tumbled
At the Rumble in the Jungle
Ali floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee
Yeah, that was Muhammed Ali
For one fight after another, Ali beat five contenders to the floor
In nineteen seventy five the Thriller in Manila was next in store
Against Joe Frazier who had beat Ali in seventy one before
The Thriller in Manila would be a savage brutal war
A savage brutal war
Ali won when Frazier’s corner threw in the towel in the fifteenth round
The effect of the hard bloody battle on them both would be profound
Frazier was almost blind in one eye and never won again
Ali took so much punishment, he would never be the same
In seventy eight Leon Spinks took the title from him
Ali went and trained hard and got back into shape in the gym
And later that year he beat Spinks and won his title back
It was for a record third time and on his childhood Kentucky home they fixed a plaque
By then Ali was past his prime and so in seventy nine he relinquished his crown
He had been the greatest living boxer pound for pound
After he’d retired he became an Ambassador for Peace
We all know that the fight for peace doesn’t cease
Ali helped free hostages and traveled to feed the poor overseas
In nineteen eighty four Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
He never gave up and he fought on
But this was one fight that just couldn’t be won
In two thousand and sixteen with his family by his side
Ali lost his last battle and he peacefully died
In his time, he had floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee
Yeah, that was Muhammad Ali
That was Muhammad Ali
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Lyrics and vocals Paul Robert Thomas PRS No. 497904008 (London)
PRS Tunecode: 109184SD * ISWC: T-343.766.679-6
Audiosparx Catalogue ID: 1460563 * ISRC: US5UL2688911
Released by Swiss Cottage Recordz, London
Publishing Admin – UL Sounds LLC, Studio City, USA and Budde Music Ltd.
Licensing (Non-exclusive) by Audiosparx, Florida USA.
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