Springsteen's 'The Rising': Wrong convention tune at the wrong time?

Moments after Barack Obama followed Joe Biden’s speech at the Democratic National Convention with an unscheduled appearance of his own on stage, the loudspeaker started playing Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising.”

No surprise as far as the featured artist, as Springsteen has gone on record as an Obama supporter.

But  it was the choice of song that puzzled us. “The Rising” is a song about a firefighter who gives his life while trying to save others in the World Trade Center on 9/11. The last verse takes place at his funeral, with his wife and kids in attendance.

An excellent song, to be sure, but a strange one for a campaign rally. Perhaps an Obama staffer just heard the title and listened to the chorus and thought, “Hey, it’s a song about rising, like we want to do in the polls!”

The Ronald Reagan campaign was criticized in 1984 for having “Born in the USA” played during campaign stops, confusing a Vietnam War song with a patriotic anthem. For us, this was a similar faux pas -- it took a bit away from a moment meant to be inspiring to hear a song about death played so loudly.

Next time, the Obama camp might consider Springsteen's “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.”

-- Houston Mitchell

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Comments

[Susan]

Pick, pick, pick. Songs & poems that last & are effective transcend the exact moment/occasion for which they are written.

[Pete]

You are dead on. It's also worth noting that Clinton and Edwards made the same mistake with that song -- and look at what it did for their campaigns.
http://blogs.townonline.com/Springsteen/?p=1862

[Torr]

actually, i'm guessing that about 99% of the people watching (including myself) couldn't decipher a single lyric in the song other than "come on up for the rising", so your entire point is moot.

[scootmandubious]

Well, Top Of The Ticket is consistent today. It seems every post is focusing on just about every non-issue they can find to tear Obama down.

Please tell me that you will follow the exact same policy when John McCain and his party hold their convention.

Or will you be telling us how unified they are and how everything just feel right into place?

[Karley]

This is a worthless article. Spend your time writing articles about the real issues of this campaign, please! We are begging just one media outlet to give us some substance. We don't care about the songs that they place.

[Jean Cole]

Oh get a grip. The point of the song is rising above the quagmire (whatever that may be) that you currently are in.

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Get it?

[Anthony]

THE RISING
Can't see nothin' in front of me
Can't see nothin' coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile of line

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearin' the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rollin' down here

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li

There's spirits above and behind me
Faces gone black, eyes burnin' bright
May their precious blood bind me
Lord, as I stand before your fiery light

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li

I see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of my line

Sky of blackness and sorrow (a dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (a dream of life)
Your burnin' wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li

[Tom]

Bruce and Barack belong on the same stage. They are both heroes for the ages. And The Rising is an apt anthem. Barack will bring us out of the quagmire, just like Bruce did after 9-11.

[Wes Allen]

Can't see nothin' in front of me
Can't see nothin' coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile line

The first verse introduces us to the main character already ascending one of the towers. While it is clearly written about a firefighter because it is written in the first person we can easily place ourselves in the shoes of the protagonist, especially since the majority of us can recall the day and pinpoint the array of emotions we encountered. The opening lines bring us back to that confusion. The smoke, fire, darkness, and chaos make it hard to navigate the narrow stairwells and hallways of the building. There is something heavy and oppressive pressing down on us. Perhaps it is the job? This question in all of its perplexity draws us deeper into the mystery and confusion of the song. We are not entirely sure what the burden is but we hope to find out. Nevertheless, they are equipped with the tools they need.

Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

On VH1 Storytellers Springsteen comments that the chorus moves the song into “gospel and transformation,” he explains, “something greater is going to happen.” Essentially much of the album focuses on this hope that America can rise up from this devastation.

Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearin' the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rollin' down here

The second verse of the song now has us recalling the early events of the day. We revisit the initial hysteria. On Storytellers Springsteen suggests that the ringing bells come from a variety of sources including sirens, church bells, and tolling bells. Springsteen’s suggestion adds to the complexity of the day. The sirens represent the chaos, the tolling bells commemorate the dead, and the church bells lift out a prayer and convey a hope through the chaos. Next we finally discover the burden of our hero. “The cross of my calling” lifts the character up as the Christ figure. The burden is the job and the risks associated with it, however, the character sees it as a divine calling and he or she is willing to lay their life down for others unselfishly. Like Christ in the garden of Gethsemane the protagonist cries out for God to remove the cup of death from his or her lips.

Spirits above and behind me
Faces gone, black eyes burnin' bright
May their precious blood forever bind me
Lord as I stand before your fiery light

On Storytellers Springsteen insinuates that the third verse refers to those who have come and gone before us. His lyrical language evokes a Catholic understanding of the communion of saints connecting the spiritual (heaven and purgatory) and the earthly realms. Springsteen then suggests that the “Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li” chorus is the unison prayers of these realms. Moreover this verse, in addition to the fourth, has a mystical quality. As the firefighter is rescuing those stranded in the tower he or she faces their sacrificial death and is transported to the heavenly realm, where he or she stands before the Lords “fiery light.”

I see Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of my line

The images in the final verse move from death, chaos, and burden to a mystical tranquility. The character is now in a beautiful garden with a newly introduced character Mary. On Storytellers Springsteen allows this new character to remain ambiguous he asks, “Is it Mary my wife or the Virgin Mary?” Regardless, in death the hero is comforted and the darkness and confusion of the early verses are overcome by light and life. As Springsteen furthers his interpretation he utters the final line, “Like a catfish dancin’ on the end of the line” and emotionally repeats the words “life.” Jim Cullen unfolds this verse further in comparing Springsteen’s metaphors to David Tracy’s analogical imagination. Where Springsteen leaves the character Mary in ambiguity Cullen purports that it is the protagonist and his wife who are reunited “into a kind of transubstantiation.”

[juano]

No big deal at all. Not even comparable to Reagan's use of "Born.."

[Rick]

Actually, you are wrong. This osng was originally written about Asbury Park, New Jersey so you may want to get your facts staright before you write your articles...

[steve]

actually Rick - You are wrong. "My City of Ruins" was written about Asbury Park.

Perhaps you should get your facts straight

[A J McMenemy]

A rallying call for his nation, and one of the finest songs of his career, it is perfectly apt that the song captures the mood of a nation still reeling from the Bush Administration,

[Sven]

The DNC played Born in the U.S.A. in the celebrations after Obama's speech too...

[ColinJ]

Actually Reagan never used Born in the USA. He quoted lyrics from "The Promised Land" on a campaign stop in New Jersey - THAT was the issue that Springsteen took exception to.