THE RISING

By Bruce Springsteen

Can't see nothin' in front of meCan't see nothin' coming up behindI make my way through this darkness I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds meLost track of how far I've goneHow far I've gone, how high I've climbed

On my back's a sixty pound stone On my shoulder a half mile line

(chorus) Come on up for the risingCome on up, lay your hands in mineCome on up for the risingCome on up for the rising tonight 

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

(chorus repeats) Come on up for the risingCome on up, lay your hands in mineCome on up for the risingCome on up for the rising tonight

Spirits above and behind meFaces gone, black eyes burnin' brightMay their precious blood forever bind meLord as I stand before your fiery light

I see you Mary in the garden In the garden of a thousand sighsThere's holy pictures of our childrenDancin' in a sky filled with lightMay I feel your arms around meMay I feel your blood mix with mineA dream of life comes to meLike a catfish dancin' on the end of the 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 tonightSky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (a dream of life)

(chorus repeats)

Works Cited

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen was born in Freehold, New Jersey in 1949. He is a rocker without all of the flashy clothes and hair. Bruce was often referred to as “The Boss” and came on stage to perform wearing just a T-shirt and jeans. Everyone knew about his long-winded, energetic shows where he performed songs that actually describe the problems of regular people. Along with performing lively shows, The Boss spent lots of time fundraising for several different causes that deal with the environment, Amnesty International, homeless Vietnam veterans, and food banks. (Kallen 80).

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“Lost track of how far I’ve gone, How far I’ve gone, how far I’ve climbed ”

This is from a firefighter’s point of view and it is most likely referencing how bewildering it was being at the scene of the Two Towers and charging into the burning buildings. The firefighters who responded to the Two Towers attack were courageous men and women who relentlessly climbed up the burning towers to save as many people as possible. Firefighters don’t get paid as much money in a year as most baseball players do in a single game (Dwyer and Flynn 175-78).

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“On my back’s a sixty pound stone

On my shoulder a half mile line” These two lines are

talking about the oxygen tank and water hose that firemen use during fires. All of the equipment that firemen are required to carry adds up to weigh a lot. They have to wear boots, pants, a coat, helmet, oxygen tank, and mask which adds up to about fifty-seven pounds just on their body. Those who carry a fire hose, which are about 50 feet in length, increase the weight an extra thirty pounds (Dwyer and Flynn 51).

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“Come on up, lay your hands in mine”

This line is talking about how people needed to help each other to get through this hard time. Many people were affected by the Two Towers attacks on 9/11. Not only people that were in the building were among the ones that were killed. People such as firefighters, policemen and people on the actual planes that crashed into the skyscrapers were killed.

About 3,000 people were killed in this act of terrorism and it had a huge impact on the people of the United States (ABC-CLIO American History). There are currently some organizations that help people cope with the loss of someone on 9/11 and also the survivors of the event.

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“Left the house this morningBells ringing filled the air”

Here, Springsteen gives an example of a flashback by referring to the situation in the past tense. “Left the house” could be referring to the firefighters leaving the fire station when they got the calls about the twin towers falling. It could also be a firefighter leaving their actual home in the morning to go to work. “Bells ringing filled the air” is an obvious reference to the fire trucks’ alarms going off to signal an emergency.

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“Come on up…”

This stanza is an example of an anaphora because of Springsteen’s repeated use of “Come on up…”. He repeats “come on up” so many times to really stress the fact that this is a hard time for everyone, but despite

this terrible event people need to stay strong and really come together to overcome the difficulties that were happening and also the ones that were soon to come.

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“On wheels of fire I come rollin’ down here”

This line is referencing the fire trucks that responded to the Twin Towers attacks and how they were moving as quickly as possible to save everyone they could as fast as they could. Unfortunately, not every person survived the attacks including paramedics, police officers, and fire fighters ("Never Forget: Plain").

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“Black eyes burnin’ bright”

This is an oxymoron because black eyes aren’t going to be something that is bright. Springsteen has put two opposite things together resulting in an oxymoron. The purpose of this line in this stanza is to show that the fire fighter is dying and is going to heaven. He is seeing all the spirits and chaos around him. This line is how the firefighter describes the spirits that he sees.

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“I see you Mary in the garden”

Here, is an example of an allusion. An allusion is a reference to something like a myth or a Biblical reference, a famous event, etc (Allusion.. in Prose). The reference to “Mary” is most likely talking about the Virgin Mary. At this point in the song the firefighter who sacrificed his life has crossed over into heaven and is seeing what he thinks is the Virgin Mary.

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“A dream of life comes to me Like a catfish dancin’ on the end of the line” By comparing life to

“a catfish dancin’ on the end of the line”, Springsteen is saying that the fireman has just had something like a realization about life in the form of a simile. When someone catches a catfish and is reeling is in, it is going to be flying around and when the fisherman is trying to

get a hold of the fish, it slips right out of his grasp. The fireman is saying that this slippery catfish is like him trying to hold onto his life, but as he tries to hold onto his “lifeline” it too slips out of his grasp.

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“Sky of blackness”

The smoke that resulted from the attack on the Two Towers was incredible. News broadcasters captured the Two Towers attack and everyone watched as smoke filled the air and both of the massive towers were destroyed. (Williams 13). There are some people who think that there were faces in the smoke that resulted from the crash that were reminiscent of the devil.

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“Sky of longing and emptiness”

The New York skyline is a beautiful sight to see. After the World Trade Center attacks, the skyline seemed emptier. It seemed lonely, like there was something missing. There will hopefully be new towers built in the original’s place. They are supposedly going to open in the year 2011("World Trade Center").

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