It was produced and engineered by Daniel Lanois, and written by Parachute Club members Billy Bryans, Lauri Conger, Lorraine Segato and Steve Webster, with additional lyrics contributed by filmmaker Lynne Fernie.

[4] It remains the band's most famous song, and has been adopted as an activist anthem for causes as diverse as gay rights, feminism, anti-racism and the New Democratic Party.

Members of Parachute Club publicly opposed this commercial use of the song and commenced a legal action for breach of copyright against EMI Music Canada and McCain Foods.

A spokesperson for EMI Music Canada stated that "the contract…allows us to license the song in all commercials and films except for political endorsements, religious messages and X-rated motion pictures, so we had no reason to believe that they would object.

In 2014, the surviving band members released a contemporary dance remix of the song in conjunction with Toronto's hosting of the 2014 edition of WorldPride; the event had selected "Rise Up" as its theme and slogan.

[3] Additionally, in the summer of 2014, Segato, who was a musician in residence in the Regent Park area of Toronto, released a remix of the single titled "Rize Time".

A country music version credited to The Common Cause Collective featured Gord Bamford, Meghan Patrick, Tim Hicks, Kira Isabella, Brett Kissel, Jess Moskaluke, Jason McCoy, Tebey, Don Amero and The Washboard Union,[15] while an updated pop version and a dance remix credited to The New Parachute Collective were led by Segato and her original Parachute Club colleagues Julie Masi and Dave Gray, along with contributions by Theo Tams, Jimmy Chauveau, Jilea, Kayla Diamond, Maya Kiltron and Britta Badour.