To me this song truly is the best Springsteen song since his renaissance started back in the late nineties. It was a testament that the Boss was not only still capable of good writing a good song but heart wrenching epics as well. My City of Ruins is one of those Springsteen songs that starts in a very clear defined setting but has a universal appeal to it. It proved to be as much NJ lament as it became the balm for NY and New Orleans or any other city in disarray. My City of Ruins transcends the content of its lyrics.
The first two verses deal with the crumbling of NJ, or at least that is what it was written for. From the eerie opening line (was there a violent incident) to the men on the corner like scattered leaves (was there ever a better metaphor for gangs on the streets) to the brother kneeling in church, the song takes us along the NJ streets. But anybody who?s lived or been to the inner-city ghettos around the world will recognize these scenes.
There is a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door's thrown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Now the sweet bells of mercy
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
My city of ruins
In the chorus Springsteen lets his heart bleed. He not only lets you feel him mourning for his city but allows you to mourn along. Of course he wouldn?t be the man he is if that very mourning wasn?t infused in a very staunch resistance, an appeal to the future. He wouldn?t be Springsteen if the chorus wasn?t transcending, cathartic.
It is in that chorus where Springsteen takes the already universal appeal of the song to inner cities to an even higher level. It is that chorus that made it so fitting in the aftermath of 9/11 or Katrina. With his hand stretched firmly out Springsteen reaches out with an appeal, provides the balm and reassurance in a very difficult time.
Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!
Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!
Then suddenly the song shifts to the individual, making the song smaller than it was. Universal enough to apply to any of us but small enough to allow you your own individuality, to give you your place in the often overpowering events or currents that causes cities to crumble. The chorus shows us who deprivation hit, who the terrorists of 9/11 hurt, who?s lives were irrevocably changed by Katrina and the negligence of president Bystander. Whether the protagonist lost his or her partner because of the inability to cope with the inner-city realities, lost a loved one in the Twin Towers or had his or her life and love taken from him by Katrina, the disorienting emotions of that verse are the blue print for any one who?s grieving his or her losses.
Now's there's tears on the pillow
Darlin' where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again?
My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins
From there the song lifts us up again. Very unusual for Springsteen in direct prayer. Either Springsteen introduces a preacher into the song or this is one of the few songs where he bluntly acknowledges his faith. Either way the song takes us into prayer, Springsteen tries to offer us something to hold on to, to find our strength in but he also just offers his prayers, thoughts and sympathies for those who have been struck.
Now with these hands,
With these hands,
With these hands,
I pray Lord
With these hands,
With these hands,
I pray for the strength, Lord
With these hands,
With these hands,
I pray for the faith, Lord
We pray for your love, Lord
We pray for the lost, Lord
We pray for this world, Lord
We pray for the strength, Lord
We pray for the strength, Lord
Come on
Come on
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
Come on, rise up
My City of Ruins is an epic and as many epics it can be a bit overpowering at times. But you have to try very hard not to be affected by it.
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