The River (Bruce Springsteen song)
Encyclopedia
"The River" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen
, accompanied by the E Street Band
. It was the title track of his fifth album, The River, and was a hit single in parts of Europe. It reached #25 in the Netherlands, and reached the top 10 in both Sweden and Norway. It's B-side was either "Independence Day
" or "Ramrod
," depending on the country.
in New York
in July or August 1979. In an early performance Springsteen cites the inspiration as "my brother in law and my sister".
"The River" makes use of a haunting harmonica
part, and in some ways is a precursor to the style of his next album, Nebraska
. The imagery of the chorus and the end of the song were inspired by lines from Hank Williams' 1950 hit, "Long Gone Lonesome Blues
". The song's depiction of how economic difficulties are interlaced with local culture also presaged the 1980s popularity of heartland rock
:
Writer Robert Hilburn
described the song as "a classic outline of someone who has to re-adjust his dreams quickly [, facing] life as it is, not a world of his imagination."
Throughout the song the river is viewed as a symbol for the dreams of the future. The narrator keeps his hopes alive even as they realistically begin to fail.
The song was debuted in public at the Musicians United for Safe Energy
concerts at Madison Square Garden
in September 1979, and was featured in the subsequent 1980 film No Nukes
three months before The River' s release.
"The River" was not released as a single in the U.S., but was released as a single in May 1981 in several countries in Western Europe
. It placed to number 35 on the UK Singles Chart
. It also reached number 24 on the Irish Singles Chart
, number 10 in Sweden's singles chart,number 6 in The Danish Top 20 and had its best showing with a number 5 placement on Norway's singles chart. In the U.S., it gained considerable album oriented rock airplay and became one of Springsteen's best-known songs to fans. It was included on both his 1995 Greatest Hits
and 2003 The Essential Bruce Springsteen
compilations. The European edition of the 2009 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Greatest Hits also incorporated it.
"The River", and a few other songs on the album, such as "Wreck on the Highway
" and "Stolen Car
", mark a new direction in Bruce Springsteen's songwriting: these ballads imbued with a sense of hopelessness anticipate his next album, Nebraska
. Bruce Springsteen himself has noted that "Wreck on the Highway" is one of the songs reflecting a shift in his songwriting style, linking The River to Nebraska.
The aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net rated this song as the #25 song of 1980
, as well as #239 of the 1980s and #1341 all time.
, it was often preceded by a long, intense story from Springsteen about his battles with his father growing up, that would sometimes conclude positively and sometimes not; the silence after the story would then be interrupted by the start of the harmonica part. One such story and performance, that also touched on the Vietnam War
, was included on the 1986 Live/1975–85 set.
In some concert footage, he mentions that it was written for his sister and brother-in-law.
On later tours, especially in Europe, the song's outro was extended to great length, with audiences mass singing the wordless "oooh" parts at the end. On the 1999–2000 Reunion Tour
, "The River" was cast in a different arrangement featured a Clarence Clemons
saxophone part; one such rendition was included on the subsequent Live in New York City
album and DVD. The song has been performed about 515 times through 2008.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, accompanied by the E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
. It was the title track of his fifth album, The River, and was a hit single in parts of Europe. It reached #25 in the Netherlands, and reached the top 10 in both Sweden and Norway. It's B-side was either "Independence Day
Independence Day (Bruce Springsteen song)
"Independence Day" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River...
" or "Ramrod
Ramrod (song)
"Ramrod" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for his fifth album, The River, released in 1980. It was recorded at The Power Station in New York in June or July 1979. The song was actually written earlier and recorded for Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of...
," depending on the country.
History
"The River" was originally intended to be included an earlier, one-record version of The River, tentatively called The Ties That Bind. The song itself was recorded at The Power StationAvatar Studios
Avatar Studios, formerly known as The Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City.The building was originally a Consolidated Edison power plant; but after a period of vacancy, it was used as a sound stage for the television game show Let's Make a Deal...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in July or August 1979. In an early performance Springsteen cites the inspiration as "my brother in law and my sister".
"The River" makes use of a haunting harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
part, and in some ways is a precursor to the style of his next album, Nebraska
Nebraska (album)
-Themes:The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative based on the true story of 19-year-old spree killer Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, and ends with "Reason to Believe", a complex narrative that renders its title phrase into contemptuous sarcasm...
. The imagery of the chorus and the end of the song were inspired by lines from Hank Williams' 1950 hit, "Long Gone Lonesome Blues
Long Gone Lonesome Blues
"Long Gone Lonesome Blues" is 1950 song by Hank Williams. The song was Hank Williams' second number one on the Country & Western chart. "Long Gone Lonsesome Blues stayed on the charts for twenty-one weeks, with five weeks at the top of the Country & Western chart...
". The song's depiction of how economic difficulties are interlaced with local culture also presaged the 1980s popularity of heartland rock
Heartland rock
Heartland rock is a genre of rock music that developed in the 1970s and reached its commercial peak in the 1980s, when it became one of the best-selling genres in the United States. It was characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue collar American life, and a...
:
- I come from down in the valley,
- Where mister when you're young —
- They bring you up to do, like your daddy done
- I got a job working construction, for the Johnstown Company
- But lately there ain't been much work, on account of the economy
- Now all them things that seemed so important —
- Well mister, they vanished right into the air
Writer Robert Hilburn
Robert Hilburn
Robert Hilburn is a pop music critic and author. As critic and music editor of the Los Angeles Times from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles have appeared in hundreds of publications around the world...
described the song as "a classic outline of someone who has to re-adjust his dreams quickly [, facing] life as it is, not a world of his imagination."
Throughout the song the river is viewed as a symbol for the dreams of the future. The narrator keeps his hopes alive even as they realistically begin to fail.
- That sends me down to the river,
- Though I know, the river is dry.
- It sends me down to the river, tonight
The song was debuted in public at the Musicians United for Safe Energy
Musicians United for Safe Energy
Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, is an activist group founded in 1979 by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall. The group advocates against the use of nuclear energy, forming shortly after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in March 1979...
concerts at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in September 1979, and was featured in the subsequent 1980 film No Nukes
No Nukes (film)
No Nukes is a 1980 documentary and concert film that contained selections from the September 1979 Madison Square Garden concerts by the Musicians United for Safe Energy collective, with Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall being the key organizers of the event and guiding forces...
three months before The River
"The River" was not released as a single in the U.S., but was released as a single in May 1981 in several countries in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. It placed to number 35 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It also reached number 24 on the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
, number 10 in Sweden's singles chart,number 6 in The Danish Top 20 and had its best showing with a number 5 placement on Norway's singles chart. In the U.S., it gained considerable album oriented rock airplay and became one of Springsteen's best-known songs to fans. It was included on both his 1995 Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Bruce Springsteen album)
Greatest Hits is Bruce Springsteen's first compilation album, released February 27, 1995 on Columbia Records. It is a collection of some of Springsteen's hit singles and popular album tracks through the years and four extra numbers at the end, mostly recorded with the E Street Band in 1995...
and 2003 The Essential Bruce Springsteen
The Essential Bruce Springsteen
- Charts :- Certifications :- External links :* *...
compilations. The European edition of the 2009 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Greatest Hits also incorporated it.
"The River", and a few other songs on the album, such as "Wreck on the Highway
Wreck on the Highway
"Wreck on the Highway" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was originally released as the final track on his fifth album, The River...
" and "Stolen Car
Stolen Car (Bruce Springsteen song)
"Stolen Car" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River...
", mark a new direction in Bruce Springsteen's songwriting: these ballads imbued with a sense of hopelessness anticipate his next album, Nebraska
Nebraska (album)
-Themes:The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative based on the true story of 19-year-old spree killer Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, and ends with "Reason to Believe", a complex narrative that renders its title phrase into contemptuous sarcasm...
. Bruce Springsteen himself has noted that "Wreck on the Highway" is one of the songs reflecting a shift in his songwriting style, linking The River to Nebraska.
The aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net rated this song as the #25 song of 1980
1980 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....
, as well as #239 of the 1980s and #1341 all time.
Live performance history
"The River" became a centerpiece of shows on some Springsteen tours. On the Born in the U.S.A. TourBorn in the U.S.A. Tour
The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's massively popular Born in the U.S.A. album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen. After two years of bodybuilding, Springsteen had bulked up...
, it was often preceded by a long, intense story from Springsteen about his battles with his father growing up, that would sometimes conclude positively and sometimes not; the silence after the story would then be interrupted by the start of the harmonica part. One such story and performance, that also touched on the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, was included on the 1986 Live/1975–85 set.
In some concert footage, he mentions that it was written for his sister and brother-in-law.
On later tours, especially in Europe, the song's outro was extended to great length, with audiences mass singing the wordless "oooh" parts at the end. On the 1999–2000 Reunion Tour
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour was a lengthy, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place over 1999 and 2000....
, "The River" was cast in a different arrangement featured a Clarence Clemons
Clarence Clemons
Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...
saxophone part; one such rendition was included on the subsequent Live in New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City is the name of a concert film done by HBO, featuring the first ever major televised Bruce Springsteen concert...
album and DVD. The song has been performed about 515 times through 2008.