"Come on up for the rising / Come on up lay your hands in mine..."
This is the most deceptively brilliant song I've ever heard. Musically, it's not Springsteen's strongest. Not by a longshot. But lyrically, it may very well be my personal favorite. And from a guy like me who was born and raised in the Garden State? Picking your favorite Springsteen song is like telling one of your kids that you love them more than the rest. So that's saying something.
Let's do today's entry in the form of a guessing game:
Can you figure out what's so special about the narrator of this song before the end of this post?
To help you out, the pertinent clues have been highlighted. And to keep things interesting -- I'll throw in a few lines of smarmy analysis, just to throw you off the scent.
(If you haven't already -- click the video above and give this song a listen BEFORE reading today's entry. Things will make a lot more sense if you have a working knowledge of the piece before reading).
Now then -- let's get to it!
Can't see nothin' in front of me
Can't see nothin' coming up behind
I make my way through this darkness
I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds meFrom the sound of it, our story starts off like a typical "lone protagonist sets out on a voyage of self discovery" tale, yes? Judging from the imagery in the first stanza, the world is a dark and spooky place, and our narrator feels like he's inexplicably tied to some force greater than himself.
Darth Vader: "Yes (deep breaths) The Force is strong with this one..."
Fair enough. Back to the lyrics...
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile lineBy the looks of things, our wandering hero has been at this "voyage of self discovery" thing for a while. You can hear it from the grit in his voice: he's a workin' man with that all-American toughness to him -- so we'll forgive the rather generic examples of figurative language. "Heavy" baggage, "long" ropes, "high" climbing -- we've heard these things before. It's not earth-shatteringly original, but it's a Springsteen protagonist: blue collar through and through. So we'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Moving on to the refrain...
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 tonightWell, so much for that solo voyage for self awareness, eh? Hmm. Springsteen's use of the second person pronoun ("your" hands) isn't just an indication that this guy isn't going on this journey alone, it's a flat-out invitation for the listener to come along for the ride.
The plot thickens...
Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearin' the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rollin' down hereI know, I know -- so we're looking at just another Christian pilgrim chasing the American dream or some other nondescript message along those lines, right? Not even close. The deeper meaning is simply too good to spoil just yet. But once you figure out what this song is actually about, the very act of re-reading these lines will give you chills. Seriously, it's that well-written.
Now for the freaky lyrics of the bridge:
Spirits above and behind me
Faces gone, black eyes burnin' bright
May their precious blood forever bind me
Lord as I stand before your fiery lightOooooo -- spooky! Spirits and ghosts flooding the skies! At this point, it's obvious that Springsteen's going a little heavy on "The Waste Land" imagery...
Ghost of T.S. Eliot: Seriously, Bruce -- enough already.
But the deeper meaning is just inches below the spectral surface. Didja' get it yet? Only one verse to go ...
I see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of the lineIf you're keeping score at home, the narrator's story is a sad one since "Mary" is only a "dream of life" now that she's lost somewhere in this "garden of a thousand sighs." Translation: the girl is pushing up daisies.
Epiphany:
"Oh, so he's trying to put together the remains of his life after the death of a loved one!!!"
Gah -- you're ALMOST right. But the final imagery of the song actually reveals a story much deeper, broader, and more tragic than that. It's a classic twist ending -- M. Night Shyamalan style. Wait for it!!!
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 tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (a dream of life)And this is where your brain explodes from the brilliance of this song. Ladies and gentlemen...
"The Rising."
Here's the recap, Sixth Sense style:
| Song Lyric | Corresponding Image |
Can't see nothin' in front of me Can't see nothin' coming up behind I make my way through this darkness I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me | A fireman ascending a rescue ladder into a smoke-filled building, tethered to a fire hose or a safety cable. |
On my back's a sixty pound stone On my shoulder a half mile line | The weight of the fireman's gear and oxygen tanks weighs roughly 60 pounds. Behind him, a safety cable (or fire hose) is anchored to the rescue vehicle |
Come on up for the rising Come on up, lay your hands in mine | The firefighter raises a wounded survivor from the wreckage of the ruined building. (Alternately: he implores fellow citizens to join in the relief efforts.) |
Left the house this morning Bells ringing filled the air Wearin' the cross of my calling On wheels of fire I come rollin' down here | The fire fighter left the fire station (affectionately, the "fire house") when the warning bells rang. The "cross of my calling" is not the mark of a Christian -- it's the crest of the fire company, on whose "wheels of fire" (a fire engine) he speeds to the site of the 9/11 attacks. |
Spirits above and behind me Faces gone, black eyes burnin' bright May their precious blood forever bind me Lord as I stand before your fiery light | Thousands are dead or wounded. Countless others are covered in heavy, black ash amid the rubble. The fiery light is both metaphorical of the afterlife and painfully literal, as the flames rise from the ruined buildings. |
I see you Mary in the garden In the garden of a thousand sighs There's holy pictures of our children Dancin' in a sky filled with light May I feel your arms around me May I feel your blood mix with mine A dream of life comes to me Like a catfish dancin' on the end of the line | In the days following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, New York City residents held candlelight vigils. Others posted a sea of homemade signs, photographs and posters and all across the city. These "holy pictures of our children" with images from happier times prayed for the souls of loved ones and requested information regarding the whereabouts of those lost in the attacks -- "a garden of a thousand sighs." |
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