Waitin' on a Sunny Day

Last updated
"Waitin' on a Sunny Day"
Waitin' on a Sunny Day CD Cover.jpg
Single by Bruce Springsteen
from the album The Rising
ReleasedApril 22, 2003
RecordedEarly 2002
Studio Southern Tracks Recording Studio, Atlanta, Georgia
Genre
Length4:18
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s) Brendan O'Brien
Bruce Springsteen singles chronology
"Lonesome Day"
(2002)		"Waitin' on a Sunny Day"
(2003)		"Devils & Dust"
(2005)
Music video
"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" on YouTube

"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" is a song by Bruce Springsteen that was first released in a recording with the E Street Band on his 2002 album The Rising . Although the song was not released as a single in the United States, it was released as a single in Europe, and was a hit in Sweden.

Contents

History and themes

While many songs on The Rising were written in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" was written earlier. [6] [7] Springsteen wrote and recorded the song in 1998 or 1999, but that recording has not been released. [7] [8] On June 17, 1999, during the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour, Springsteen and the band played the song for a soundcheck, but did not play it during any of the actual shows on the tour. [8] The song was finally recorded again in Atlanta during the Rising sessions and was released on that album. [8]

The song combines a simple, bouncy melody [9] and arrangement powered by drums, acoustic guitars and Soozie Tyrell's violin with a lyric that describes optimism in a couple's relationship:

It's raining, but there ain't a cloud in the sky
Must have been a tear from your eye
Everything'll be okay ...

The words of the chorus are deliberately simple, to the consternation of some critics: [9] [10]

I'm waitin', waitin' on a sunny day,
Gonna chase the clouds away
Waitin' on a sunny day.

Instrumental breaks during the middle and end of the song feature Clarence Clemons's saxophone set against a glockenspiel and a backing vocal chorus singing "oohs" and "aahs".

Although "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" was written prior to the September 11 attacks, the song's theme of wanting to be happy again takes on additional meanings within the context of the album's explicitly themed September 11 songs. [6] In his book The Gospel According to Bruce Springsteen, author Jeffrey Symynkywicz views the song as a reflection of the simpler world prior to September 11. [7]

"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" is one of a few songs on The Rising that recall the E Street Band's R&B roots. [11] Springsteen has described it as "a good example of pop songwriting" and also as the type of song he tends to "want to throw out...directly into the trash can" until former producer Jon Landau talks him out of it. [6] [12] Springsteen has also stated that he wrote the song in the style of Smokey Robinson. [6] [12]

Release

Although the song was not released as a single in the United States, it was released as a single in Europe, and reached number 15 in Sweden. [13] It also charted in Germany and the Netherlands.

It also charted in Australia. There, it was released as part of a four-track single: [14]

  1. "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" [studio version]
  2. "Born to Run" [live]
  3. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" [live]
  4. "Thunder Road" [live]

The three live tracks were culled from 2000 Reunion Tour shows featured on the Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City DVD; the latter two had not appeared on the parallel Live in New York City CD release. [14]

This four-track configuration was also released as an EP titled Waitin' on a Sunny Day in 2004. [15]

Despite its success as a live track and hit status in Europe, it wasn't released on any Bruce Springsteen compilation album. However, it was released on the Bruce Springsteen Live Series album Songs of Summer. [16] It's the most streamed track from its album on Spotify. [17]

Music video

A music video was released in 2002 although it was not of the studio version and instead the live performance from the DVD, Live in Barcelona.

Live performances

Springsteen lets a young child sing "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" during a May 21, 2009, Working on a Dream Tour show at the Izod Center in New Jersey. Yellow stage lighting frequently accompanies the song's performances. Waitin' on a Sunny Day Meadowlands 052109.jpg
Springsteen lets a young child sing "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" during a May 21, 2009, Working on a Dream Tour show at the Izod Center in New Jersey. Yellow stage lighting frequently accompanies the song's performances.

The song has become a standout in concert performances by Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was a centerpiece of The Rising Tour, often played immediately after the somber "Empty Sky" and "You're Missing" to lift the crowd's spirits. [6] [18] From the beginning, his performances of it featured crowd interaction, with the song's simple chorus making it easy for the audience to assimilate and sing along en masse. [19] [20] A Rising Tour performance documented on the 2003 Live in Barcelona concert DVD [15] features a rearranged, drum-less opening section, a chorus given to sideman Steve Van Zandt, and Springsteen walking along the front row of the pit and then stopping the band to allow the crowd to sing by itself. [21]

"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" received a segment during Bruce Springsteen's appearance on the VH1 Storytellers television program in 2005 [12] (later released on his VH1 Storytellers DVD), then appeared in a few encores during the subsequent 2005 solo Devils & Dust Tour. It was then played intermittently during Springsteen and the band's 2007–2008 Magic Tour.

It then resumed a full role during the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour, appearing in virtually all of the shows. Springsteen commonly picked out one or more youngsters from the front of the pit area and had them sing along on the song. [22] [23] [24] Despite still being a "new" song compared to much of Springsteen's concert repertoire, it nonetheless got a strong audience response. [23] One such performance was included on video on the London Calling: Live in Hyde Park concert DVD in 2010. [25] Featuring drums, a Clemons baritone sax part and a Nils Lofgren slide guitar part all from the start, Springsteen played the song to the hilt, running along the front of the Hard Rock Calling audience (a general festival crowd that was not all Springsteen fans), encouraging and getting singalongs at every chorus, and getting a boy sitting on his parents' shoulders to sing. [26] Youngster-featured performances continued as a staple of the 2012 Wrecking Ball Tour. However, the song's constant presence and predictable format in concerts (almost always toward the end of the main set, with a crowd sing-along and a child picked out from the pit to sing) have caused it to be widely disliked among hardcore fans, many of whom take a bathroom break each time it is played. [27] [28] [29] In response, an employee in Shore Fire Media said, "The song and singalong is enjoyed by tens of thousands every night. We love our devoted fans who go to multiple shows, but they have to remember they are still a minority of the total audience." [30]

Chart performance

Weekly chart performance for "Waitin' on a Sunny Day"
Chart (2003)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [31] 51
Germany (Official German Charts) [32] 85
Italy (FIMI) [33] 27
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [34] 41
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [35] 46
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [36] 20
USA Adult Alternative Airplay [37] 20
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [38] 15

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)</span> 1973 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" is a 1973 song by Bruce Springsteen, from his The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle album, and is especially famed as a concert number for Springsteen and The E Street Band. The song, which clocks in at just over seven minutes, is a story of forbidden love between the singer and the titular Rosalita, whose parents disapprove of his life in a rock and roll band. It is included on the compilation albums The Essential Bruce Springsteen and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Greatest Hits. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked it the 446th greatest song of all time on their updated 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

<i>The Rising</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Bruce Springsteen

The Rising is the twelfth studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released on July 30, 2002, on Columbia Records. An immediate critical and commercial success, it was Springsteen's first to top the US Billboard 200 since Tunnel of Love (1987). Hailed as a triumphant return to form for Springsteen, the album won two Grammy awards and marked the start of a successful collaboration with producer Brendan O'Brien. The Rising came seven years after The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995), the longest interlude between studio albums for the artist, and was his first in almost two decades with the E Street Band, with whom he had recently completed a highly successful reunion tour. The album is based in large part on Springsteen's reflections in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen song)</span> 1975 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Born to Run" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run. Upon its release, music critic Robert Christgau took note of its wall of sound influence and called it "the fulfillment of everything 'Be My Baby' was about and lots more".

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City is the name of a concert film done by HBO, featuring the first ever major televised Bruce Springsteen concert. It was later released on DVD with eleven extra songs not televised, and as a CD of the same name.

<i>Hammersmith Odeon London 75</i> 2006 live album by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 is a concert video and the fourth live album by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, released in 2006. It is a full-length recording of their performance on November 18, 1975, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, during their Born to Run tours. It was first released as a DVD on November 14, 2005, as part of the Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition package, and then several months later on February 28, 2006, released as an audio CD. The album was reissued on vinyl for the first time for Record Store Day on April 22, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Born in the U.S.A. (song)</span> 1984 song by Bruce Springsteen

"Born in the U.S.A." is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and released in 1984 on the album Born in the U.S.A. One of Springsteen's best-known singles, it was ranked 275th on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and in 2001, the RIAA's Songs of the Century placed the song 59th, remaining a favorite in classic rock. The song addresses the economic hardships of Vietnam veterans upon their return home, juxtaposed ironically against patriotic glorification of the nation's fighting forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ghost of Tom Joad (song)</span> 1995 song by Bruce Springsteen

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is a folk rock song written by Bruce Springsteen. It is the title track to his eleventh studio album, released in 1995. The character Tom Joad, from John Steinbeck's classic 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, is mentioned in the title and narrative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rising Tour</span> 2002–03 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003. It followed the release of their 2002 album The Rising.

Live In Barcelona is a full concert video DVD of a performance by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band of their Rising Tour performance of October 16, 2002 at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

<i>VH1 Storytellers</i> (Bruce Springsteen album) 2005 American film

VH1 Storytellers is a concert and discussion DVD by Bruce Springsteen, expanded from the airing of an episode of the VH1 television series VH1 Storytellers on April 23, 2005. Tied into promotion for his album Devils & Dust at the time, it was released in video form half a year later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rising (Bruce Springsteen song)</span> 2002 single

"The Rising" is the title track on Bruce Springsteen's 12th studio album The Rising, and was released as a single in 2002. Springsteen wrote the song in reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City. It gained critical praise and earned Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, as well as a nomination for Song of the Year. Rolling Stone named it the 35th best song of the decade, and VH1 placed it 81st on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '00s". It was used as the first credit song to end the broadcast of the 2002 World Series on Fox Sports.

"Bobby Jean" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, from his 1984 album Born in the U.S.A. Although not released as a single, it reached number 36 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

<i>London Calling: Live in Hyde Park</i> 2010 concert film by Bruce Springsteen

London Calling: Live in Hyde Park is a concert video of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's performance during the Hard Rock Calling music festival in Hyde Park, London on June 28, 2009. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats by Columbia Records on June 22, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonesome Day</span> 2002 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Lonesome Day" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and initially performed by Springsteen and the E Street Band. It is the opening track of his 2002 album The Rising. It was released as a single as the follow-up to the title track on December 2, 2002 and reached #36 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, #39 in the UK, and #47 in Sweden. It fared much better on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, reaching #3.

"Youngstown" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. Although many of the songs on the album were performed by Springsteen solo, the lineup for "Youngstown" includes Soozie Tyrell on violin, Jim Hanson on bass, Gary Mallaber on drums, co-producer Chuck Plotkin on keyboards, and Marty Rifkin on pedal steel guitar. The song has also been covered by Kenny Greco, Blue Moon Rising, Show Of Hands, The Stairwell Sisters, Steve Strauss and Matthew Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Promised Land (Bruce Springsteen song)</span> 1978 single by Bruce Springsteen

"The Promised Land" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. It was released as a single in Europe, backed by another song from Darkness on the Edge of Town, "Streets of Fire", the third single from the album after "Badlands" and "Prove It All Night". "The Promised Land" was also included on the compilation album The Essential Bruce Springsteen. The song has been a staple of Springsteen's live shows since 1978, and has been included on several concert albums and videos. The live album Live/1975–85 includes a 1985 performance of "The Promised Land" from a concert in Los Angeles, California. A performance of the song from a 2003 concert in Barcelona is included on the Live in Barcelona video. A June 28, 2009 live performance in London from the Working on a Dream Tour was included on the London Calling: Live in Hyde Park DVD. The box set The Promise contains video of three live performances of "The Promised Land", a 2009 performance from the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, New Jersey, without an audience, a 1978 performance from a concert in Phoenix, Arizona, and another 1978 performance from a concert in Houston, Texas. Darren Hanlon covered "The Promised Land" on Play Some Pool, Skip Some School, Act Real Cool. Eddie Vedder has also covered this song live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Blank (Bruce Springsteen song)</span> 1981 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Point Blank" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and first released on Springsteen's 1980 album The River. In Europe, it was also released as a single in 1981, backed by another song from The River, "Ramrod". Although it was not released as a single in the US, it did reach #20 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrecking Ball World Tour</span> 2012–13 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Wrecking Ball World Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to promote Springsteen's seventeenth studio album, Wrecking Ball, which was released on March 5, 2012. It was the first tour for the E Street Band without founding member Clarence Clemons, who died on June 18, 2011. The worldwide tour in support of the album, which ended in September 2013, reached 26 countries, the most ever for one of Springsteen's tours. The tour resumed in January 2014 to promote Springsteen's new album, High Hopes, and went under that album's name.

"Land of Hope and Dreams" is a 1999 song written by Bruce Springsteen and performed by Springsteen and the E Street Band. After being performed on tour and released on multiple live albums, a studio recording was released for the first time on Wrecking Ball in 2012.

<i>Apollo Theater 3/09/12</i> 2014 live album by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Apollo Theater 03/09/12 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, released in November 2014 and was the first official release through the Bruce Springsteen Archives. The concert is available on CD and digital download at http://live.brucespringsteen.net.

References

  1. ↑ [ dead link ]
  2. ↑ https://www.popmatters.com/springsteenbruce-rising-2496075968.html
  3. ↑ "Roll of the Dice: Waitin' on a Sunny Day". Estreetshuffle.com. 27 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "√ Bruce Springsteen - DEVILS & DUST". Rockol.it.
  5. ↑ "The Rising - Bruce Springsteen | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic .
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Kirkpatrick, R. (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen. Praeger. pp.  141–144. ISBN   978-0-275-98938-5.
  7. 1 2 3 Symynkywicz, J. (2008). The Gospel According to Bruce Springsteen. Westminster John Knox Press. p.  143. ISBN   978-0-664-23169-9.
  8. 1 2 3 "Brucebase, On the Tracks: The Rising" . Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  9. 1 2 Corcoran, Michael (2002-09-10). "Songs of an empty sky" (fee required). The Austin American-Statesman .
  10. ↑ Segal, David (2002-07-30). "Pop Painkiller: On 'The Rising,' Springsteen Offers Healing Balm With a Short Shelf Life" (fee required). The Washington Post . p. C1.
  11. ↑ "The Rising". allmusic . Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  12. 1 2 3 Springsteen, Bruce (2005). Bruce Springsteen - VH-1 Storytellers.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts" . Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  14. 1 2 "Waitin on a Sunny Day [Enhanced, Import, Single]". Amazon. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  15. 1 2 "Waitin' on a Sunny Day". allmusic . Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  16. ↑ "The Live Series: Songs of Summer". Spotify . 15 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "The Rising". Spotify . 30 July 2002.
  18. ↑ Guterman, J. (2005). Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen. Da Capo Press. p.  219. ISBN   978-0-306-81397-9.
  19. ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa (2002-08-09). "Springsteen Issues a Call To 'Rise Up' After 9/11". The New York Times .
  20. ↑ Kessler, Jordan (2002-08-28). "Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band: 12 August 2002: Madison Square Garden — New York". PopMatters . Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  21. ↑ Chris Hilson (director) (2003-11-18), Live in Barcelona , Columbia Music Video
  22. ↑ Levin, Jordan (2009-09-14). "Review: Bruce Springsteen plays on into overtime". The Miami Herald .
  23. 1 2 "Review: Springsteen & the E Street Band Give Fans Something to Remember @ MSG". Glide Magazine. 2009-11-07.
  24. ↑ Soeder, John (2009-11-11). "'Born to Run' is reborn when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rock The Q". The Plain Dealer . Cleveland.
  25. ↑ "London Calling: Live in Hyde Park". allmusic . Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  26. ↑ Chris Hilson (director) (2010-06-22), London Calling: Live in Hyde Park , Columbia Records
  27. ↑ "2012 Setlists Part 2". Backstreets.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  28. ↑ ANDY GREENE. "Ten Things To Expect From Bruce Springsteen's Upcoming World Tour". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14.
  29. ↑ "Decade of Bruce: Worst Springsteen Song of the Decade | Blogness on the Edge of Town". Archived from the original on 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  30. ↑ [ dead link ]
  31. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 264.
  32. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – Waitin' on a Sunny Day" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  33. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – Waitin' on a Sunny Day". Top Digital Download.
  34. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bruce Springsteen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  35. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – Waitin' on a Sunny Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  36. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – Waitin' on a Sunny Day" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band". Billboard. 1997-05-24. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  38. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – Waitin' on a Sunny Day". Singles Top 100.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.