DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN

Album version

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[sample from THE LAST WORDS OF COPERNICUS]

Well, no cannonballs did fly, no rifles cut us down
No bombs fell from the sky, no blood soaked the ground
No powder flash blinded the eye, no deathly thunder sounded
But just as sure as the hand of God, they brought death to my hometown
They brought death to my hometown, boys

[sample from THE LAST WORDS OF COPERNICUS]

No shells ripped the evening sky, no cities burning down
No army stormed the shores for which we'd die, no dictators were crowned
I awoke from a quiet night, I never heard a sound
The marauders raided in the dark and brought death to my hometown, boys
Death to my hometown

[sample from THE LAST WORDS OF COPERNICUS]

They destroyed our families, factories, and they took our homes
They left our bodies on the plains, the vultures picked our bones

So listen up, my sonny boy, be ready for when they come
For they'll be returning sure as the rising sun
Now get yourself a song to sing and sing it 'til you're done
Yeah, sing it hard and sing it well
Send the robber barons straight to hell
The greedy thieves who came around
And ate the flesh of everything they found
Whose crimes have gone unpunished now
Who walk the streets as free men now

Ah, they brought death to our hometown, boys
Death to our hometown, boys
Death to our hometown, boys
Death to our hometown, whoa!

[sample from THE LAST WORDS OF COPERNICUS]

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Info

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 2012 album Wrecking Ball. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN as released in 2012.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN debuted on 23 Feb 2012, streaming on PasteMagazine.com.

Writing and Recording

It has not yet been revealed when DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was written or recorded, but it's probably in 2011. The line-up on this track includes Bruce Springsteen, Ron Aniello (backing vocals and more), Matt Chamberlain (drums and percussion), Kevin Buell (drums and backing vocals), Charles Giordano (B-3 organ), Rob Lebert (backing vocals), Art Baron (euphonium and/or tuba), Soozie Tyrell (violin), Ross Peterson (backing vocals), and Cliff Norrell (backing vocals).

The studio version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN contains excerpts from Alan Lomax's recording of THE LAST WORDS OF COPERNICUS. According to producer Ron Aniello, it was Springsteen who had the idea to use the Alan Lomax recordings on the album.

Wrecking Ball

Wrecking Ball is Bruce Springsteen's seventeenth studio album. It was produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen and executive producer Jon Landau and features special guest appearances from Tom Morello and Matt Chamberlain. The album features 11 new Springsteen recordings and a special edition includes two bonus tracks. All 13 tracks are Springsteen compositions, three of which have previously been released as live versions.

In 2010-2011, before the album came together, Springsteen was originally working on another project. In a December 2013 interview for Rolling Stone, Ron Aniello told Andy Greene: "Those were about 30 or 40 songs. They were very unique for him, unlike anything I'd ever heard." It was on 09 Jan 2011 that Aniello first went to Colts Neck to help Springsteen finish arrangements for the project he was working on. Those songs would eventually become the core of Western Stars, which wasn't released until 2019.

After they had been working together for about a month, Springsteen wrote EASY MONEY which was a different style of song to what they've been working on before. He had also written JACK OF ALL TRADES, WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN, WRECKING BALL, SHACKLED AND DRAWN, and ROCKY GROUND. The latter two were originally written for a gospel film project he was working on and on which he spent on-and-off about a year. As Aniello told WCHR-FM's Tom Cunningham, "things just started steam rolling into this other record, you know, not sure what was going round in his mind." Springsteen was bringing in more songs, and it was evident that the direction of the music was changing. Jon Landau came in, listened to the music, and after a discussion with Springsteen they decided to do a new album. "Literally, this man bought in a new song every day. He just bulldozed us with these songs," Aniello explained.

Springsteen was coming in every morning with a new song and it would start with just him and his guitar. He would then sing a rhythm to Aniello or sit down at the drums and play a beat. Aniello was looping these drum beats – no drum machines were used on Wrecking Ball – and adding other layers, like loops of percussion, also played by Springsteen. According to Aniello, this was done just for convenience because they were alone in studio, songs were coming in quick, and there were no other musicians there. The loops stayed, and other instruments were added at later stages. "Ron brought a large library of sound that allowed me to explore – like maybe a hip-hop drum loop or country-blues stomp loop," Springsteen told Rolling Stone in 2012. "The actual drums came later. There was no preconceived set of instruments that needed to be used, I could go anywhere, do anything, use anything. It was very wide open." Everybody who was around was participating in the recording. They even jumped on pieces of plywood, built some risers to stomp on, and hit couches to makes noises.

Wrecking Ball was mainly recorded at Stone Hill Studio, Springsteen's home studio at his Colts Neck, NJ farmhouse. The album was released on Columbia Records on 05 Mar 2012 in the UK, 06 Mar 2012 in the United States, and 21 Mar 2012 in Japan.

Wrecking Ball was recorded with a large ensemble of musicians. There's a core of six musicians and the others were just guest artists. Some E Street Band members appear on a few of the tracks. According to Ron Aniello, the album credits are "a mess" and will be revised in future reissues.

• Bruce Springsteen (lead vocals, guitars, banjo, piano, organ, drums, percussion, and loops) appears on all of the album's tracks.
• Ron Aniello (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, loops, percussion, hurdy gurdy, and backing vocals) appears on all of the album's tracks. He is also the album producer.
• Matt Chamberlain (drums and percussion) is an American musician, drummer, producer, songwriter, and session player. He appears on track 3, track 5, and track 8.
• Max Weinberg (drums) is a member of The E Street Band and appears on track 7, track 11, and track 13.
• Steve Jordan (percussion) has previously appeared on Springsteen's Devils & Dust, playing drums and percussion. He appears on track 2.
• Kevin Buell (drums and backing vocals) is Springsteen's guitar technician. He appears on track 5.
• Charles Giordano (accordion, piano, B-3 organ, and celeste) recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band and became an unofficial member of The E Street Band in 2008. He appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Marc Muller (pedal steel guitar) is a multi-instrumentalist who mainly plays string instruments. He plays pedal steel guitar on track 3.
• Tom Morello (electric guitar) appears on track 4 and track 6.
• Greg Leisz (banjo, mandola, and lap steel) is a multi-instrumentalist, mainly playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass. He appears on track 8 and track 11.
• Rob Lebert (electric guitar and backing vocals) appears on track 5, track 7, track 8, track 12, and track 13.
• Darrell Leonard (trumpet and bass trumpet) is a Los Angeles based trumpet player, composer and arranger. He appears on track 11.
• Curt Ramm (trumpet and cornet) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 7, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Clark Gayton (trombone) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Stan Harrison (clarinet, alto sax, and tenor sax) has previously appeared on Springsteen's The Promise, playing tenor saxophone. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Ed Manion (tenor sax and baritone sax) is a member of The Miami Horns and he toured with The E Street Band in 1988 and recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Dan Levine (alto horn and euphonium) is a New York City based musician who plays several horn instruments. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 9, and track 10.
• Art Baron (euphonium, tuba, sousaphone, and penny whistle) recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 5, track 9, and track 10.
• Clarence Clemons (saxophone) was a member of The E Street Band and appears on track 7 and track 10.
• Soozie Tyrell (violin and backing vocals) started touring with The E Street Band in 2002 and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band in 2006. She appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Patti Scialfa (backing vocals and vocal arrangements) is Springsteen's wife and a member of The E Street Band since 1984. She appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Lisa Lowell (backing vocals) has been singing backup vocals on several Springsteen albums since 1992 and recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. She appears on track 1, track 2, track 3, track 6, track 7, track 10, and track 12.
• Cindy Mizelle (background vocals) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band and The E Street Band in 2009. She appears on track 3.
• Ross Peterson (backing vocals) appears on track 3, track 5, track 7, track 8, track 12, and track 13.
• Cliff Norrell (tuba and backing vocals) is the album's recording engineer. He appears on track 3, track 5, track 7, track 8, track 12, and track 13.
• New York String Section (strings), also known as the New York Chamber Consort, consists of Rob Mathes (orchestration), Sandy Park (string contractor), Lisa Kim (concertmaster), Myumju Lee (violin), Ann Lehmaan (violin), Lizz Lim (violin), Johanna Marher (violin), Annaliesa Place (violin), Fiona Simon (violin), Sharon Yamada (violin), Jung Sun Yu (violin), Karen Dreyfus (viola), Daniel Panner (viola), Robert Rinehart (viola), Mina Smith (cello), and Alan Stepansky (cello). It appears on track 1, track 4, and track 7.
• Victorious Gospel Choir (backing vocals) has previously appeared on Springsteen's The Rising. On Wrecking Ball, the choir includes Michelle Moore, Antoinette Savage, Corinda Carford, Tiffeny Andrews, Soloman Cobbs, and Lillie Brown. It appears on track 2, track 9, and track 10. Michelle Moore is credited separately on the three tracks. The remaining singers are credited individually on track 2, and as the Victorious Gospel Choir on track 9 and track 10.
• Jeremy McCoy (bass violin) is an orchestral double bass player. He appears on track 12.
• Dan Shelly (bassoon) is an orchestral bassoon player. He appears on track 12.
• Mark Romatz (contrabassoon) is an orchestral bassoon player. He appears on track 12.
• Steven Van Zandt (mandolin and backing vocals) is a member of The E Street Band. He appears on track 7, track 10, and track 13.

Wrecking Ball is available in three configurations: standard CD edition, special CD edition, and double-disc LP. The special CD edition features two bonus tracks and exclusive packaging. The double-disc LP is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and includes the standard CD edition of the album.

The album topped the charts in 16 countries, including the United States and the UK.

Other Official Releases

Other versions of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN were also officially released.

Live History: on-tour

In preparation for the Wrecking Ball Tour, DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN is known to have been practiced during at least one of the private rehearsals that took place between January and March 2012 in Fort Monmouth, Trenton, and Asbury Park prior to the tour's first U.S. leg, during the private rehearsal that took place on 12 May 2012 in Seville, Spain prior to the tour's European leg, and during the private rehearsal that took place on 10 Sep 2013 in Santiago, Chile prior to the tour's South American leg.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed 133 times during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013); that is each and every one of the tour's regular dates. On this tour, the song was played in its album arrangement. The live 28 Jul 2012 version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was released on the Gothenburg July 28, 2012 official live download in 2020. The live 31 Jul 2012 version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was released on the Olympiastadion, Helsinki July 31, 2012 official live download in 2017. The live 22 Sep 2012 version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was released on the East Rutherford, NJ 09.22.12 official live download in 2019. The live 12 Nov 2012 version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was released on the St. Paul, MN Nov 12, 2012 official live download in 2020. The live 11 Jul 2013 version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was released on the Ippodromo Delle Capannelle, Rome 2013 official live download in 2015. The live 24 Jul 2013 version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was released on the Leeds July 24, 2013 official live download in 2018.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed 21 times during the High Hopes Tour (34 dates, January to May 2014). On this tour, the song was played in its album arrangement. Audio recordings for most High Hopes Tour shows are officially available for purchase.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed 23 times during The River Tour 2016 (75 dates, January to September 2016). On this tour, the song was played in its album arrangement. Audio recordings for all The River Tour 2016 shows are officially available for purchase.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed 7 times during the Summer '17 Tour (14 dates, January and February 2017). On this tour, the song was played in its album arrangement. Audio recordings for all Summer '17 Tour shows are officially available for purchase.

Live History: off-tour

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed off-tour on 02 Mar 2012 at Rockefeller Center in New York City, NY, during a TV appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The song was played in a full-band arrangement with the E Street Band and Tom Morello. See the live 02 Mar 2012 version for more details.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed off-tour on 09 Mar 2012 at Apollo Theater in New York City, NY, during the Sirius Satellite Radio 10-year anniversary celebration. The song was played with the E Street Band. The live 09 Mar 2012 version of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was released on the Apollo Theater 03/09/12 official live download in 2014.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed off-tour on 15 Mar 2012 at Moody Theater in Austin, TX, during the South By Southwest music festival. The song was played with the E Street Band and Tom Morello.

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN was performed off-tour on 08 Feb 2013 at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA, during the 2013 MusiCares Person Of The Year ceremony.

Covers

At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN.

Credits

Thanks Frank M for the lyrics corrections.

Request

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Available Versions

List of available versions of DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN on this website:

DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN [Album version]
DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN [Live 02 Mar 2012 version]
DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN [Live 09 Mar 2012 version]
DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN [Live 28 Jul 2012 version]

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Page last updated: 04 Apr 2020