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Costner And His Band Record Musical Tribute To Rays

Tribune file photo by JAY CONNER

Kevin Costner also has helped the Rays unveil their new uniforms and rally support for a stadium proposal.

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By KEVIN WALKER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 30, 2008

Updated: 10/01/2008 12:15 am

TAMPA - Kevin Costner sure has a thing for the Tampa Bay Rays, doesn't he?

He might live on a ranch in California, but the famous actor ("Bull Durham," "Field of Dreams") and Oscar-winning director ("Dances With Wolves") has been stepping to the plate for the Rays lately.

He attended a news conference in November to unveil the team's new colors and logo, and then his band, Modern West, played a concert. Then he appeared in a promotional video when the team wanted to build a stadium in downtown St. Petersburg.

Now he's bringing the music.

He and Modern West have recorded a new song, "It's All Up To You," which they bill as a salute to the Rays, who made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history this season. They start the playoffs Thursday in St. Petersburg against the winner of tonight's tie-breaker game between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox.

The song, a midtempo arena rocker, actually never mentions the Rays by name. It extols an unnamed "you" to "give a hundred percent" and to not let "anybody else tell you what you can and can't do" (excluding, we assume, the umpires). It also includes the radio call of Cliff Floyd's home run against the White Sox.

In an interview today, Costner said he had been working on the song previously but added lyrics that are "metaphorically where the Rays are at this moment." He said that "it was something that I wanted to do for the guys. It's a gift. How it is used is up to them."

Costner said he sees the tune as a "war song" for the team, although he acknowledged that most players, who are in to hip hop, might not like the song, which he called "pretty Stones-y."

Costner said he has no plans to travel to see the Rays but will pull for them. However, he said that if the Rays make the World Series and play the Los Angeles Dodgers, he'll have no choice but to pull for the Dodgers.

"You've got to be true to yourself," he said.

Here are lyrics to part of the song's chorus:

"You got to swing for the fence, give a hundred percent,

"Dust yourself off, get up and do it again.

"You're the only one that can make your dreams come true.

"You're the only one, it's all up to you."

And here is the song. Tell us what you think.

Play this file in your own media player

(or, right click and "Save as ..." to save to your computer).

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