Cant see nothing in front of me
Cant see nothing comin up behind
Make my way through this darkness
Cant feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone and how far I\'ve climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder half mile outta 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 mornin
Bells ringing filled the the air
I was wearing the cross on 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
LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa
(repeat)
The spirits of love stand behind me
Faces gone, black eyes burnin bright
May the precious blood find me
Lord as I stand before you, I realize
LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa
(repeat)
I seen you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
She\'s holdin pictures of our children
Dancin in the sky, filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
The dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin on the end of my line
Sky of blackness and sorrow (dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (dream of life)
Your burden fills my arms tonight
Sky of lonely and emptiness (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
LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa
(repeat)
Cant see nothing comin up behind
Make my way through this darkness
Cant feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone and how far I\'ve climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder half mile outta 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 mornin
Bells ringing filled the the air
I was wearing the cross on 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
LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa
(repeat)
The spirits of love stand behind me
Faces gone, black eyes burnin bright
May the precious blood find me
Lord as I stand before you, I realize
LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa
(repeat)
I seen you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
She\'s holdin pictures of our children
Dancin in the sky, filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
The dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin on the end of my line
Sky of blackness and sorrow (dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (dream of life)
Your burden fills my arms tonight
Sky of lonely and emptiness (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
LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa
(repeat)
Lyrics submitted by metallifreak
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Like a catfish dancin' on the end of my line."
Obviously, The Boss's word on this is final, but for those who are having trouble understanding what he means, think of the way a fish wriggles and slips off the end of a fishing line. The fisherman grasps at it, tries to hold it, but it shimmies away and is gone. In the song, life is compared to that fish. The fireman, who is the voice of the song, feels the life he hoped for slip away from him like a fish slips away from a fisherman. This works beautifully in a literal sense, too, because we know the fireman has been climbing up the stairs with "this chain that binds me" tied around him. It is his literal lifeline, and he struggles to hold onto it as it slips away. Then, just as a fish rejoins the ocean, the fireman's spirit rejoins the endless ocean of eternity.
This is such a powerful song because it works on so many levels. It's the story of one fireman climbing the tower and thus ascending from earth to heaven. As a chorus of other voices join in, it's the story of all the other souls rising along with his. It's the story of the survivors rising metaphorically from the blow of the attack and physically raising the remains and erecting a new structure in their wake. Springsteen is so brilliant because he takes a tragic event that resulted in thousands of untimely deaths and transforms it into a triumph of death overcome as all those innocent souls rise to life everlasting. All these years later, I still want to cry every time I hear it.
Bruce is just and unbelievable songwriter
WTC site...The fallen towers..sky of lonely and emptiness... Sky of love sky of tears, fear, mercy, sorrow, love... all makes you think of what was lost when they came down.
This is a song that says help someone rise from their struggles and tragedies... lay your hands in mine...
On my back a sixty pound stone (heavy burdens and struggles) on my shoulder a half mile of line (indicates that the person trying to help you has a long history of struggles and tragedies and we must help each other to overcome them... that is part of life