Meeting Across the River

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"Meeting Across the River"
Song by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Born to Run
ReleasedAugust 25, 1975
RecordedJuly 18, 1975
Studio The Record Plant (New York City)
Genre Rock, jazz rock
Length3:18
Label Columbia Records
Songwriter(s) Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s) Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and Mike Appel

"Meeting Across the River" is the seventh track on Bruce Springsteen's 1975 album, Born to Run ; it also appeared as the B-side of "Born to Run", the lead single from that album. The song is often paired with "Jungleland" in concert, though without the Randy Brecker trumpet part from the record and with regular bass guitarist Garry Tallent.

Contents

Description

The song is a dark character sketch featuring a soft, haunting trumpet played by Randy Brecker, piano backing from E Street Band member Roy Bittan and upright bass from jazz veteran Richard Davis. Brecker's jazz-inspired horn part adds poignancy to the song and suggests a film noir feel. [1] [2] The lyrical, understated track forms a bridge between the uptempo "She's the One" and the album's epic finale, "Jungleland". [3] It also forms a bridge between the New Jersey–based songs throughout the Born to Run album and the New York City setting of "Jungleland". [2] Presumably, the men in "Meeting Across the River" are heading through "the tunnel" under the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York to meet their connection. [2]

The lyrics describe a low-level criminal, down on his luck but with one last chance at success for him and his friend, Eddie, that involves meeting a man across the river. [1] Springsteen portrays his characters sympathetically. [2] The narrator appears to be desperate; he needs to borrow some money and a ride from Eddie, and his girlfriend is threatening to leave because he has pawned her radio. The details are vague, but the consequences if they fail at their task seem to be very serious, and the song's sombre tone does not imply that they will succeed. The lyrics also imply that the man has never really been qualified for crime; however, the promise of a $2,000 payoff, and the thought that this might make his girlfriend stay with him, have caused him to get in over his head. Original pressings of Born to Run billed the song as "The Heist", suggesting the man across the river is paying the narrator and Eddie to commit a robbery. "Meeting Across the River" is in some ways similar in theme to The Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man", which depicts a drug deal in New York City. [4]

The book Meeting Across The River: Stories Inspired by the Haunting Song by Bruce Springsteen is a collection of short stories edited by Jessica Kaye and Richard Brewer.

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: [5]

Covers

The song was covered by Syd Straw in 1997.

Related Research Articles

<i>Born to Run</i> 1975 studio album by Bruce Springsteen

Born to Run is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co-produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recording took place in New York. The album marked Springsteen's effort to break into the mainstream following the commercial failures of his first two albums. Springsteen sought to emulate Phil Spector's Wall of Sound production, leading to prolonged sessions with the E Street Band lasting from January 1974 to July 1975; six months alone were spent working on the title track.

<i>The River</i> (Bruce Springsteen album) 1980 album by Bruce Springsteen

The River is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released as a double album on October 17, 1980, by Columbia Records. The album was Springsteen's attempt at making a record that captured the E Street Band's live sound. Co-produced by Springsteen, his manager Jon Landau, and bandmate Steven Van Zandt, the recording sessions lasted 18 months in New York City from March 1979 to August 1980. Springsteen originally planned to release a single LP, The Ties That Bind, in late 1979, before deciding it did not fit his vision and scrapped it. Over 50 songs were recorded; outtakes saw release as B-sides and later on compilation albums.

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"She's the One" is a song by Bruce Springsteen. Frequently featured in Springsteen and E Street Band concert performances, it first appeared on the Born to Run album in 1975. It was also released as the B-side to Springsteen's "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" single.

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"The River" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, accompanied by the E Street Band, in 1979. The title track of his fifth album, it was a hit single in parts of Europe in 1981; reaching No.24 in Ireland, No. 25 in the Netherlands, and the top 10 in both Sweden and Norway. Its B-side was either "Independence Day" or "Ramrod", depending on the country of release.

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"Independence Day" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River, in 1980. It was recorded at The Power Station in New York, on April 24–25, 1980.

"Wreck on the Highway" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was originally released as the final track on his fifth album, The River. The version released on The River was recorded at The Power Station in New York in March–April 1980. As well as being the last track on The River, it was the last song recorded for the album.

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"Adam Raised a Cain" is the second track from Bruce Springsteen's fourth album Darkness on the Edge of Town.

"Darkness on the Edge of Town" is the last song on the 1978 album of the same name, Darkness on the Edge of Town, by Bruce Springsteen. It was the last song recorded and mixed, and in April 1978 it was designated the title song to a thematic album whose songs portray the struggles of the less-fortunate, not only to survive, but to keep their spirit and will to live. The title track portrays a hard-luck loser in life who refuses to give up. Springsteen's fourth album, released three years after his 1975 effort Born to Run, was delayed two years because of legal problems with his former manager, Mike Appel. Expectations were high after he took one year to complete the album.

References

  1. 1 2 Sawyers, J.S. (2006). Tougher Than the Rest. p. 254. ISBN   0-8256-3470-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kirkpatrick, R. (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen . pp.  43–44. ISBN   978-0-275-98938-5.
  3. ↑ Basham, P. (2005). The Pocket Essential Bruce Springsteen. p. 31. ISBN   1-903047-97-8.
  4. ↑ Humphries, P. (1996). Bruce Springsteen. p. 23. ISBN   0-7119-5304-X.
  5. ↑ Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020). Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-78472-649-2.
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