My City Of Ruins Lyrics
on the cold dark ground
and the rain is falling down
The church doors blown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone
My city of ruins
drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The empty streets
While my brother's down on his knees
My city of ruins
Come on rise up!
darling where we slept
and you took my heart when you left
without your sweet kiss
my soul is lost, my friend
Now tell me how do I begin again?
My city's in ruins
I pray Lord
with these hands
for the strength Lord
with these hands
for the faith Lord
with these hands
I pray Lord
with these hands
for the strength Lord
with these hands
for the faith Lord
with these hands
Come on rise up!
Rise up
2 months ago my friend died at the young age of 18. It was very tough on his family, friends and others. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever witnessed and can say it the whole week was a complete blur.
I listened to this song one day afterwards and i have never heard a song hit so close to home. The beginning reminded me so much of being at the funeral and seeing his casket being taken away, it was an emotional time in my life. And still is.
Every time I play this song I think of my friend. Come on Rise up!
@bearfan34 my thoughts are with you my friend
@bearfan34 my thoughts are with you my friend
this song always brings me back to an intense personal experience. i love bruce springsteen. i love this song.
i live in N.J. so many refrences to locations bruce makes, i know about/have been there. i can say though, Asbury Park is being cleaned up (finally) and its starting to look like the old days. ive also been to the stone pony, where bruce got his start. the joint is so small, but there is just some power there that is un-explainable
I've been a Bruce fan for what seems like forever and I loved this song from the first time I heard it. It now has such special meaning to me as I am a recovering alcoholic. The imagery is so metaphorical with the "city" that is in ruins is my own soul and the "rise up" section to me is about overcoming and moving past the wreckage of my life that I caused myself and others. This song is such a testament to Bruce's song writing as the words work on a lot of different levels for different people. Whenever I think I can't go on this song gives me hope. I cherish what it does for me. Corny maybe but it's true. BRUUUUCE!
Though it's taken on new meaning after 9/11, Bruce wrote this one before then about the decay of Asbury Park. He performed it at the Clearwater festival in AP in August 2001.
You all are wrong. This song is about springsteens life origannaly although that sounds weird it is true. Also, many disasters happened after this song was made and all thought it was made for that disaster such as Katrina. I have visited new orleans and seen the destruction. THIS IS LIKE ITS THEME SONG!
Actually Cherub Rock, Bruce has taken on Asbury Park has his adopted hometown. And if u saw it at its lowest - and how far it had fallen - u'd understand. He didn't exagerate really, just put his emotions behind it.
Living in New Orleans for more than a year now, this song feels so appropriate as the city continues to recover from Katrina. It's amazing how accurate the imagery is; you drive down a street in New Orleans listening to this song and it's like being in the music video.
Love the "Come on rise up!" Resilient bunch these New Orleanians.
This is one of my favorite Bruce songs, because the first album of his that I really heard was The Rising, my mom played it all the time, and I fell in love. I connect with this song so greatly, my city - although clearly not as bad as Asbury Park - used to be so alive and fun. I was driving through the old neighborhood on halloween and looking back. I remembered when I was a kid, how packed the streets would be with kids and families, and the block party every year. This year I only saw a few kids out walking around, but mostly saw a bunch of creepy guys walking around, carrying guns. It's terrible the way things have to change.
That's kind of how my city is. We used to have this nice little theater in town where my family went all the time, and now gangsters hang around the now-closed doors. When my mom and I go on on the bike-paths through the back of town, it's not uncommon to catch a whiff of marijuana from some smokers nearby. You DO NOT walk through the bad parts of town alone at night, period, because in the past people who have were raped and their bodies were found days later. "My Hometown" turns into "Murder Incorporated". I do know exactly...
That's kind of how my city is. We used to have this nice little theater in town where my family went all the time, and now gangsters hang around the now-closed doors. When my mom and I go on on the bike-paths through the back of town, it's not uncommon to catch a whiff of marijuana from some smokers nearby. You DO NOT walk through the bad parts of town alone at night, period, because in the past people who have were raped and their bodies were found days later. "My Hometown" turns into "Murder Incorporated". I do know exactly what you mean about "The Rising" being your first album, too. For me, my dad is the Springsteen fanatic of my parents, and he turned me into one too. My technical first that I remember has to be Live in Dublin and Magic/Working on a Dream. My dad played them over and over again, especially "If I Should Fall Behind", and I could never get tired of it. I really liked "Mrs. McGrath" back then because of my Irish heritage, and from then on Soozie's violin/fiddle has remained one of my favorite parts of the E Street Band.
kenf62, I've heard the same thing, but surely he changed it a bit since then? I mean, some of the imagery here seems top specific and apocalyptic for a song about a decaying N.J. city.
Great song, very moving. Love the gospel feel. I'm guessing that lots of people found this song very moving when it was released