“The Rising” by Bruce Springsteen

One of the saddest parts of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center was the fact that well over 300 firefighters died that day while responding to the resultant emergencies. Or put differently, these individuals lost their lives while trying to save those of others. And in “The Rising”, legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen empathizes with these brave souls by taking on the role of one of them as the aforementioned event unfolded.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Bruce Springsteen's The Rising at Lyrics.org.

Thus the first verse begins with the singer already being situated inside one of the burning towers. And his situation is harrowing indeed. For instance, the physical burden of his equipment alone is well over 60 pounds. Moreover he’s ascending the tower despite being lost if you will, as in not being about to see “nothing in front” nor “nothing coming up behind”. And those knowledgeable with the situation know that such was likely due to him being blinded by smoke. Yet despite these terrifying circumstances, he continues to press on, looking for a life to save.

Narrator Loses Life in the Burning Tower

And basically as the song progresses, the general idea is that he ends up losing his life. There are many lyrics which can be interpreted as an allusion to such, a lot of them using very powerful yet poetic imagery. In fact the title of this song, although it has been interpreted in different ways, may well be based on the idea of the singer’s soul “rising” up out of his physical body. And there are also quite a few religious references sprinkled throughout, particularly of the Christian variety.

But the point is really driven home in the third and final verse. That’s where we are treated to the fireman’s final earthly thoughts. And in that regard, it plays out like a scene you may see in a movie where the protagonist is dying and has final visions of his wife, children and perhaps even God.

Conclusion

So conclusively, it is abundantly clear that this song is intended to serve as a tribute to the firemen who lost their lives in 9/11 and by extension the other emergency workers also. And considering how “The Rising” went on to win multiple Grammy Awards, it would appear that the Boss did indeed achieve that goal.

Lyrics of “The Rising”

Below are the touching words from one of our writers named Malcolm:

I visited NYC three days after 9/11. Me and a friend went to visit one of the fire companies that responded, which was near his house. They only had like 11 firefighters in the company, and 9 of them died at the WTC. It was very sad.Malcolm

Facts about “The Rising”

This emotional song was to address the challenges and effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

After it was released on July 16, 2002, this song became very popular among Americans and was awarded the Best Rock Song at the 45th Grammy Awards. At the same awards night, Springsteen also bagged the award for the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance thanks to this song. Though it couldn’t win, it is worth mentioning that the song was nominated for the Song of the Year at the same awards ceremony.

This song headlined Springsteen’s 12th studio album, The Rising, and has been rated the 35th greatest song of the decade by American monthly magazine, Rolling Stone.

In addition to these glorious achievements, the song was ranked 81st in the 100 Greatest Song in the 2000s by New York-based television network VH1.

The song created the platform for Springsteen to work with renowned producer, Brendan O’Brien for the first time.

Despite the amount of popularity and massive airtime it enjoyed, the song couldn’t move very high on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 52. That notwithstanding, the song performed creditably well in Europe and was among the top ten songs in countries such as Italy, Romania, Norway and Spain.

“The Rising” was employed by political figures in the US, especially during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Elections. John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama were some notable politicians who used this song during their campaigns.

3 Responses

  1. Peter H says:

    The lyrics are good, the music ordinary.

  2. John D says:

    It’s an amazing song and brings tears whenever I hear it. However, it was written before 9/11. So, while the lyrics are applicable to that horrendous event, they were not intended to reflect that day.

    • Scott says:

      This is snot the case. Watch the final part of Howard Sterns famous Springsteen interview. The author was on the the Jersey Shore on 9/22 watching the view of the trade centers in Lower Manhattan subsequently wringing ey sing in the following days.

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