I woke up this morning
I could barely breathe
Just an empty impression
In the bed there you used to be
I want a kiss from your lips
I want an eye for an eye
I woke up this morning to an empty sky

Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky

Blood on the streets
Blood flowin' down
I hear the blood of my blood
Cryin' from the ground

Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to the empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky

On the plains of Jordan
I cut my bow from the wood
Of this tree of evil
Of this tree of good
I want a kiss from your lips
I want an eye for an eye
I woke up this morning to the empty sky

Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to the empty sky
Empty sky, empty sky
I woke up this morning to an empty sky


Lyrics submitted by Demaco

Empty Sky Lyrics as written by Bruce Springsteen

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Empty Sky song meanings
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12 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    Definitely a 9/11 heartbreaker. He has a better 9/11 track called "You're Missing". Breaks your heart when the violins kick in.

    springsteen: the greatest

    The Magic Raton October 22, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think it is because all flights where grounded on 911

    rogo9k92on May 13, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    God, this song is awesome. Sometimes I feel like I woke up to an empty sky.

    allenegirlon May 24, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Whenever I hear this song I think of 9/11. The empty sky is where the towers once stood.

    Pixie_Duston October 21, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    everyone has hit the nail right on the head, it refers to the tragedy of 9/11.

    blondxgurlyon April 23, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I believe the "empty sky" was referring to when they grounded all flights within the country following the attacks.

    kiwi-at-hearton June 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    badassssssss

    kratos1987on October 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The song is a parallel between what we all lost on 9/11 and the very personal loss of one individual. We all woke up to an "Empty Sky" the towers that once marked the south of Manhattan Island were conspicuously absent.

    And if someone lost their true love in this incident, they also woke up to "an empty impression" in the bed where he/she used to be.

    They were torn between wanting just one more kiss from their loved one and the need for revenge "an eye for an eye" as the Boss says.

    The reference to the plains of Jordan, One tree of evil, One tree of good refers to the division of the Muslims and the Christians which went back to Cain and Abel.

    Perfect prose....

    theoracle2bon February 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Yes, an exquisite response to the despair of 9/11

    lyricsgrlon August 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    just to add to what theoracle2b wrote, the difference between the two types of "empty skies" is acknowledged by springsteen in the way he refers to one as "an empty sky" and the other as "the empty sky"; while the latter references a fact that we all share as a result of the wtc attacks -- namely that the view of the lower-manhattan skyline will never again be the same -- the former speaks from the points of view of the people who actually lost loved ones that day in new york.

    (i also think this subtle change in the lyrics might have been springsteen taking a shot at members of the bush administration who used 9/11 to push their political agenda; in many ways 9/11 and its aftermath became so commercialized that most of us fail to remember that there were people who actually suffered direct losses because of the attacks.)

    i am by no means a big springsteen fan but this is a damn perfect song.

    knownoloudcrashon October 20, 2009   Link

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