Paying Tribute to 11 September 2001
- through music, books and magazines...

New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen's (AKA 'The Boss') release of the 15 track CD 'The Rising's' theme of hope and survival, after 9-11-01 is full of some powerful messages! Several of my friends and I were lucky enough to see Bruce and the E Street Band not once, but TWICE on his The Rising Tour! Unlike past tours, with no two nights the same, both the Garden (NY) and Meadowlands (NJ) shows were almost identical. We think it's because Bruce wanted to make a statement and get his message of healing out there.

The tracks on The Rising:
"Lonesome Day"
Pop-flavored mid-tempo song offeres hints of the furor to come, but kicks off the album in a deceptively easy-going manner.

"It's gonna be okay, if I can just get through this lonesome day."

"Into the Fire"
A warm acoustic song that introduces the 9/11 theme and includes some plainspoken, prayer-ike sentiments.

"May your strength give us strength, may your faith give us faith"

"Waiting on a Sunny Day"
A sweet and breezy song that almost sounds like a sequel to Springsteen's 1980 hit "Hungry Heart."

"Your smile, girl brings the mornin' light to my eyes"

"Nothing Man"
This song was written before 9/11, but is about something horrible (that isn't described in the song), and contemplates suicide

"I never thought I'd live to read about myself in my hometown paper/ Hpw my brave young life was forever changed in a misty cloud of pink vapor"

"Countin' on a Miracle"
A gritty breakup song, with soulful backing vocaals by Steveb Van Zandt and a fancifu, string-drenched interlude.

"I don't believe in magic, but for you I will"

"Empty Sky"
This song includes some of the CDs most direct 911 references, but its calm suggests bottled-up rage rather than release.

"I hear the bllod of my blood cryin' from the ground"

"Worlds Apart"
Begins as a relaitonship song, but turns into a meditation on cultural divides, and the possibility of overcoming them. Pakistani singer Asif Ali Khan and his 10-piece backing group appear throughout, underscoring the lyrical theme.

"We've got this moment now to live, then it's all just dust and dark/ Let love give what it gives."

"Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)"
A sharp departure from "Worlds Apart," this is a playful love song with rich backing vocals by members of the E Street Band and other guest vocalists, billed as "The Alliance Singers."

"There's a lot of walls need tearing down/ Together we could talk them down one by one."

"Further On (Up the Road) "
This song, feauring a big band beat and squalling guitar riffs, debuted toward the end of the 1999-2000 E Street Band reunion tour. It seemed to be a statement, at the time, about the band's future."

"One sunny mornin' we'll rise, I know/ And I'll meet you further on up the road"

"The Fuse"
A puzzle of a song, with references to death and some of the most overtly srxual lyrics of Springsteen's career, and the refrain, "The fuse is burning/ Shut out the lights."

"Tire's on the highway hissin' someething's coming/ You can feel the wires in the tree tops hummin'"

"Mary's Place "
This song, feauring a big band beat and squalling guitar riffs, debuted A scrufft, rollicking party tune that recalls the earliest days of the E Street Band, and borrows from Sam Cooke's "Meet Me At Mary's Place."

"Band's countin' out midnight, floor's rumbling loud Singer's callin, up daylight, and waiting for that shout from the crowd."

"You're mising"
Another U-turn:after the high spirits of "Mary's Place," a somber ballard about loss."

"God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox/ I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops."

"The Rising"
The CD's title track and first single is from the view of a 9/11 rescue worker, struggling through the darkness, but yearning for transcendence. "Meet Me At Mary's Place."

"There's spirits abov and behind me... May their precious blood bind with me"

"Paradise"
A powerful song, melodically reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence." The first verse is about a suicide bomber, the second about a woman who lost her husband at the Pentagon on 9/11."

"I hold my breath, and close my eyes, and wait for paradise"

"My City of Ruins"
A soul-gospel anthem originally written about Asbury Park, but eerily appropriate for the 9/11 theme, with the lines about "baordded up windows" and "empty streets.""

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

created 15 august 2002 by gabbaroo services. Webmistress neverforget11sept.net. Ideas and comments welcomed. Copyright  © 2002

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