Lyrics to
What Is Success

This version of What Is Success was released by Bonnie Raitt in 1974.

Our Decade Lyrics Bonnie Raitt profile has all of the What Is Success lyrics from 1974 and many more songs from the Bonnie Raitt discography that we have on file.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Bonnie Raitt or about the 1970s in general.

How does one decide
That the methods he’s using,
They just don’t jive
To truly believe and keep trying
Over and over again
Living in hopes,
That someday you’ll be in with the winners

When will one change his mind
And jump the fence
For the dial a sign
Its a sad thing, its a bad thing
But so necessary
Living in hopes,
That someday you’ll be in with the winners

Now what, what, (I don’t know, can you tell me what)
What is success?
Is it do your own thing?
Or to join the rest
And if you truly believe it,
And try over and over again
Living in hopes
That someday you’ll be in with the winners

Oooh, tell me what it is
Sweet success

Oooh, tell me what it is
Sweet success

---

Want more lyrics and songs by Bonnie Raitt?

Bonnie Raitt has released many songs over the years besides What Is Success. Bonnie Raitt released songs from 1971 to 2005 spanning across albums like Bonnie Raitt, Give It Up, Takin' My Time, Streetlights, Home Plate, Sweet Forgiveness, The Glow, Green Light, Nine Lives, Nick Of Time, Luck Of The Draw, Longing In Their Hearts, Fundamental, Silver Lining, and Souls Alike. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Bonnie Raitt.

If you're a fan of popular 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1974 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and What Is Success by Bonnie Raitt

The lyrics for What Is Success are defined as the words making up the song released by Bonnie Raitt in 1974. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to What Is Success have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Bonnie Raitt and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to What Is Success by Bonnie Raitt if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to What Is Success" means the words set to the music of What Is Success, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Bonnie Raitt. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to What Is Success and the lyrics to What Is Success are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Bonnie Raitt who came here looking just for the lyrics to What Is Success, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Bonnie Raitt

Visit our Bonnie Raitt profile for more Bonnie Raitt songs, lyrics & info!

)