My City of Ruins

Last updated

"My City of Ruins"
Song by Bruce Springsteen
from the album The Rising
ReleasedJuly 30, 2002
RecordedMarch 2002 at Southern Tracks Recording Studio in Atlanta, Georgia
Studio TVNZ
Genre Rock Gospel
Length5:00
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s) Brendan O'Brien

"My City of Ruins" is a popular 2000s song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and included on his 2002 album The Rising . It was released as a single in New Zealand in 2011, charting at #17. [1]

Contents

History

The song was written in November 2000, for an Asbury Park, New Jersey Christmas show benefit to help promote the revitalization of the city. Once a popular resort destination in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Asbury Park had succumbed to significant amounts of blight for a variety of reasons, including the ill-effects of the Great Depression, the opening of the Garden State Parkway, and race riots.

The song first starts describing the current state of Asbury Park, the deterioration, and the absence of people in the area.

There's a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door's thrown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Throughout the song, Springsteen continues to describe the city using images such as men loitering on a street corner and buildings with boarded-up windows:

Now the sweet bells of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The empty streets
While my brother's down on his knees

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

The song ends, however, on a hopeful and optimistic note by powerfully imploring the city to "rise up" from the decay:

Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up!

"My City of Ruins" was first played on December 17, 2000, at Asbury Park Convention Hall.

September 11 association

The song took on a new meaning soon after the September 11 attacks, offering a message of hope and rising from the ruins. The most famous live performance of the song came on September 21, 2001, during the America: A Tribute to Heroes national telethon. With only a guitar and a harmonica, Springsteen opened the program, introducing the number as "a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters" and modifying a few phrases in the song. He was joined on stage by Patti Scialfa, Steven Van Zandt, Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell and Clarence Clemons. It was included as the first track on the subsequent album released of the telethon performances.

A studio recording of "My City of Ruins" was then incorporated as the concluding track of Springsteen's September 11-themed, July 2002 album release The Rising .

Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake

The song was widely used by New Zealand television stations during coverage of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and became an unofficial anthem of the city in the weeks and months that followed. [2] It inspired people of the city to rise up and rebuild the city, an endeavour which is now in progress. Springsteen played the song and dedicated it to the city during a concert in the city on the sixth anniversary of the earthquake, during his 2017 tour of Australia and New Zealand. [3]

Subsequent live performance history

"My City of Ruins" was included on the Live in Barcelona concert video and as a PBS special edition EP bonus track on Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin .

After a tour of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Springsteen played the song at the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

During the Working on a Dream Tour date in Rome, in July 2009, Springsteen dedicated this song to the victims of the earthquake which had devastated the Italian city of l'Aquila a few months before.

The song was dedicated to the Jersey Shore on November 1, 2012, at Pennsylvania State University (a stop on the Wrecking Ball Tour) after Hurricane Sandy and was performed on December 12, 2012, at the Concert for Sandy Relief.

Notable covers

Eddie Vedder performed the song at the 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors as part of the multi-artist tribute to Bruce Springsteen, who was one of five recipients of the honor in 2009. In January 2010, pearljam.com announced that Vedder's cover of the song would be available on iTunes to raise funds for Haiti earthquake disaster relief efforts. The song entered the Hot 100 the following month, peaking at #92. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Springsteen</span> American rock musician (born 1949)

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", he has released 21 studio albums during a career spanning six decades, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock, combining a commercially successful rock sound with poetic and socially conscious lyrics reflecting the issues of working class American life. He is known for his descriptive lyrics and energetic concerts, which sometimes last over four hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)</span> 1973 song by Bruce Springsteen

"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)", often known just as "Sandy", is a 1973 song by Bruce Springsteen, originally appearing as the second song on his album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. It was released as a single from the album in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Clemons</span> American saxophonist (1942–2011)

Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr., also known as The Big Man, was an American saxophonist. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.

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

The Rising is the twelfth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on July 30, 2002, on Columbia Records. The album is based in large part on Springsteen's reflections in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks the year before. The album was a critical and commercial success, representing Springsteen's first album to top the US Billboard 200 since Tunnel of Love in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Federici</span> American musician (1950–2008)

Daniel Paul Federici was an American musician, best known as a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, where he was its organist, accordionist and glockenspiel player. Federici appeared on ten of Springsteen's studio albums.

<i>America: A Tribute to Heroes</i> Benefit concert that raised money for victims of 9/11 attacks

America: A Tribute to Heroes was a benefit concert created by the heads of the four major American broadcast networks; Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS. Joel Gallen was selected by them to produce and run the show. Actor George Clooney organized celebrities to perform and to staff the telephone bank.

Vincent Lopez, nicknamed Mad Dog, is an American drummer. Between 1968 and 1974 Lopez backed Bruce Springsteen in several bands, including Steel Mill and the E Street Band. He also played on Springsteen's first two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. Both during and after his time with the E Street Band, Lopez played drums with numerous Jersey Shore bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E Street Band</span> Bruce Springsteens backing band

The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing career, the band included guitarists Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, and Patti Scialfa, keyboardists Danny Federici and Roy Bittan, bassist Garry Tallent, drummer Max Weinberg and saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

Ernest Carter is an American drummer. He has toured and recorded with, among others, Bruce Springsteen, David Sancious, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes and Paul Butterfield. During his time with Springsteen, he played the drums on the song "Born to Run".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band Tour</span> 2006 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band

The Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band Tour, afterward sometimes referred to simply as the Sessions Band Tour, was a 2006 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band playing what was billed as "An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues", otherwise seen as a form of big band folk music. The tour was an outgrowth of the approach taken on Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions album, which featured folk music songs written or made popular by activist folk musician Pete Seeger, but taken to an even greater extent.

<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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Working on a Dream Tour</span> 2009 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album Working on a Dream. This was the first full E Street Band tour without founding member Danny Federici, who died during the previous tour in 2008, and the final tour for founding member Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011.

<i>Another Night</i> (Hollies album) 1975 studio album by The Hollies

Another Night is the 15th UK studio album by English rock/pop band, the Hollies. It is the band's second album with returning vocalist Allan Clarke who rejoined in 1974 for the album Hollies, after leaving for a solo career in 1972. The album is made up of original material, with the exception of "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" by the relatively unknown Bruce Springsteen.

<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.

Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together was a one-hour, commercial-free benefit concert television special that aired simulcast in the United States on November 2, 2012 at 8 p.m. ET/CT live from New York City and tape delayed MT and PT. The special raised money for the relief efforts from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which had struck the U.S. Northeast four days earlier. All proceeds went to the American Red Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief</span> Benefit concerts held in 2012

12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief was a benefit concert that took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 12, 2012.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Hopes Tour</span> 2014 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The High Hopes Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with special guest guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. The tour was seen as a continuation of his previous tour and was in support of eighteenth studio album, High Hopes, which was released in January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The River Tour (2016)</span> 2016–17 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The River Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in support of Springsteen's 2015 The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set and in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Springsteen's 1980 album, The River. The River Tour ended in September 2016. Subsequently, the Summer '17 tour in Australia and New Zealand continued the tour using the same promotional image from the original legs.

References

  1. https://charts.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Bruce+Springsteen [ bare URL ]
  2. Bamber, Shaun (September 12, 2016). "Bruce Springsteen coming to Christchurch". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  3. Nicol-Williams, Kate (February 21, 2017). "Watch: Bruce Springsteen dedicates City of Ruins to people of Christchurch during quake anniversary eve concert". TVNZ. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  4. "My City Of Ruins". Songfacts.com. Retrieved February 11, 2010.