"My Father's House" | |
---|---|
Song by Bruce Springsteen | |
from the album Nebraska | |
Released | September 30, 1982 |
Recorded | January 3, 1982 |
Length | 5:08 |
Label | Columbia Records |
Songwriter(s) | Bruce Springsteen |
Producer(s) | Bruce Springsteen |
"My Father's House" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, released on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska .
"My Father's House" tells the story of a man who, in a dream one night, remembers being comforted by his father as a boy. The next day, he resolves to visit his father, from whom he has become estranged, and attempt to reconcile. When he arrives at his father's house, he discovers that it is too late: his father no longer lives there, and a stranger occupies the house. The narrator is left with no way to contact his father, and he cannot even know if his father is still alive.
Like much of the Nebraska album, "My Father's House" is a downbeat song with an unhappy, despairing narrator.
Springsteen recorded the Nebraska album in his home in January 1982.
Springsteen had a troubled relationship with his father. Before a 1990 live performance of the song, he told his audience how he used to regularly drive by his father's former house in Freehold Borough, New Jersey at night, without knowing why, after his father had moved to California. His psychiatrist suggested that Springsteen was trying to right past wrongs, and then told him, "Well, you can't." [1]
Ben Harper [2] and Emmylou Harris [3] recorded the song in 2000 and 2007, respectively.
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: [4]
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.
"Nebraska" is the title song of Bruce Springsteen's 1982 solo album. The stark, moody composition sets the tone for the LP, the content of which consists mostly of songs about criminals and desperate people, accompanied only by acoustic guitar and harmonica. The song has been covered by other artists, including Steve Earle, Chrissie Hynde, and Aoife O'Donovan.
"Meeting Across the River" is the seventh track on Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough 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.
"Growin' Up" is a song by American musician Bruce Springsteen from his 1973 album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J..
"Highway Patrolman" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen and was first released as the fifth track on his 1982 album Nebraska.
"Downbound Train" is a song that appears on the 1984 Bruce Springsteen album Born in the U.S.A. The song is a lament to a lost spouse, and takes on a melancholy tone. Author Christopher Sandford described the song as beginning "like a Keith Richards' riff" that ultimately moves to "one of those great country busted-heart lines, 'Now I work down at the car wash/where all it ever does is rain.'"
"Working on the Highway" is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was released on the album Born in the U.S.A. and has remained a popular concert song for Springsteen and the E Street Band.
"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.
"Darlington County" is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was released on the album Born in the U.S.A. and has remained a popular concert song for Springsteen and the E Street Band.
"Ramrod" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen for his fifth album, The River, released in 1980. It was recorded at The Power Station in New York on June 12, 1979. The song was written and originally recorded on September 12, 1977, for Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town album, but that recording was not used for its release on The River.
"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.
"Night" is a song by Bruce Springsteen which first appeared on the Born to Run album in 1975. Although this is one of the lesser known songs from Born to Run, "Night" has become somewhat of a stage favorite for the E Street Band. The song was not immediately played during the 1975 portions of the Born to Run Tour, but later became a frequent set-opener, especially during the 1976 and 1977 legs. It was still sometimes being used as an opening song decades later during the 2007–2008 Magic Tour.
"Stolen Car" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River. The version released on The River was recorded at The Power Station in New York in January 1980. An alternative version recorded in July 1979 was released on Tracks in 1998.
"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.
"Open All Night" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska.
"Johnny 99" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska.
"Mary Queen of Arkansas" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from the album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., released in 1973. Springsteen played "Mary Queen of Arkansas" at his audition for John H. Hammond at CBS Records, who signed him to his first record contract on May 2, 1972, although Hammond was less impressed with this song than with "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" or with "Growin' Up". The day after signing the contract, Springsteen recorded "Mary Queen of Arkansas" as part of a 12-song demo for Hammond. The demo version of the song was released on Tracks in 1998.
"For You" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1972 for his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., released in 1973. It was later included on the compilation album The Essential Bruce Springsteen. The song has been covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, The Format, and Greg Kihn.
"Adam Raised a Cain" is the second track from Bruce Springsteen's fourth album Darkness on the Edge of Town.
"The Promised Land" is a song by the American singer-songwriter 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.