Lyrics

THE RISING

Live July 2018 version


Can't see nothing in front of me
Can't see nothing coming up behind
Make my way through this darkness
Can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
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 half mile of line

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 tonight

Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
Wearing the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come rolling down here

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 tonight

Yeah, li, li, li, li, li-li, li, li
Li-li-li, li, li, li, li-li, li

There's spirits above and behind me
Faces gone black, eyes burning bright
May their precious blood bind me
Lord as I stand before your fiery light

Li, li, li, li, li-li, li, li
Li-li-li, li, li, li, li-li, li

I see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancing 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 dancing on the end of my 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 burning winds fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life

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 tonight

Hey, li, li, li, li, li-li, li, li
Li-li-li, li, li, li, li-li, li
Li-li-li, li, li, li, li-li, li, li
Li-li-li, li, li, li, li-li, li

A dream of life
A dream of life
A dream of life

Info


The above lyrics are for the live July 2018 performance of THE RISING at Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City, NY, during Springsteen On Broadway. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar.

This performance of THE RISING was recorded on 17 or 18 July 2018 during the taping of the Springsteen On Broadway Netflix special. It was released on the Springsteen On Broadway album in 2018.


Springsteen On Broadway

Springsteen On Broadway was a Bruce Springsteen concert residency held at Walter Kerr Theatre (in 2017-2018) and St. James Theatre (in 2021) in New York City, NY. The show consisted of Springsteen performing five shows a week, Tuesday through Saturday, at the Broadway theatres. The sold-out series of performances began with seven previews starting on 03 Oct 2017 and officially opened on 12 Oct 2017. It was extended three times after its initial eight-week run, running through 15 Dec 2018 and bringing the total number of performances at Walter Kerr Theatre to 238. On 10 Jun 2018, Springsteen received a special Tony Award for his Broadway show. In 2021, an additional limited run was announced, this time held at St. James Theatre instead of Walter Kerr Theatre. This new series of performances opened on 26 Jun 2021 and ran through 04 Sep 2021, bringing the total number of performances at both theatres to 268.

The show featured Springsteen, solo, playing guitar, piano, and harmonica, performing his music, restating incidents from his 2016 autobiography Born To Run, and performing other spoken reminiscences written for the show. His wife, Patti Scialfa, has also appeared at most shows, singing backing vocals on a total of three different songs.

Springsteen On Broadway, a Netflix special directed by Grammy- and Emmy-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny, was filmed during two special invitation-only shows on 17 and 18 Jul 2018. The film launched globally on Netflix on 16 Dec 2018 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, just hours after the final Broadway performance at Walter Kerr Theatre closed. Two days prior, on 14 Dec 2018, Columbia Records released Springsteen On Broadway, an audio album encompassing the full film soundtrack. The audio was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig. The album is available physically as a 2-disc CD set or a 4-disc LP set, as well as digitally.


Bruce Springsteen -- Springsteen On Broadway
Bruce Springsteen -- Springsteen On Broadway

Springsteen On Broadway track list (vinyl edition)

Side 1:

  1. GROWIN' UP (introduction)
  2. GROWIN' UP (song)
  3. MY HOMETOWN (introduction)
  4. MY HOMETOWN (song)

Side 2:

  1. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (introduction)
  2. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (song)
  3. THE WISH (introduction)
  4. THE WISH (song)

Side 3:

  1. THUNDER ROAD (introduction)
  2. THUNDER ROAD (song)
  3. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction)
  4. THE PROMISED LAND (song)

Side 4:

  1. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (introduction)
  2. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (song)
  3. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (introduction)
  4. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (song)

Side 5:

  1. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (introduction)
  2. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (song)
  3. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (introduction)
  4. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (song)
  5. LONG TIME COMIN' (introduction)
  6. LONG TIME COMIN' (song)

Side 6:

  1. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (introduction)
  2. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (song)
  3. THE RISING (song)

Side 7:

  1. DANCING IN THE DARK (introduction)
  2. DANCING IN THE DARK (song)
  3. LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS (song)

Side 8:

  1. BORN TO RUN (introduction)
  2. BORN TO RUN (song)

Springsteen On Broadway track list (CD edition)

Disc 1:

  1. GROWIN' UP (introduction)
  2. GROWIN' UP (song)
  3. MY HOMETOWN (introduction part 1)
  4. MY HOMETOWN (introduction part 2)
  5. MY HOMETOWN (song)
  6. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (introduction)
  7. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (song)
  8. THE WISH (introduction)
  9. THE WISH (song)
  10. THUNDER ROAD (introduction)
  11. THUNDER ROAD (song)
  12. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction part 1)
  13. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction part 2)
  14. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction part 3)
  15. THE PROMISED LAND (song)

Disc 2:

  1. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (introduction part 1)
  2. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (introduction part 2)
  3. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (song)
  4. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (introduction)
  5. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (song)
  6. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (introduction)
  7. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (song)
  8. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (introduction)
  9. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (song)
  10. LONG TIME COMIN' (introduction)
  11. LONG TIME COMIN' (song)
  12. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (introduction)
  13. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (song)
  14. THE RISING (song)
  15. DANCING IN THE DARK (introduction)
  16. DANCING IN THE DARK (song)
  17. LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS (song)
  18. BORN TO RUN (introduction part 1)
  19. BORN TO RUN (introduction part 2)
  20. BORN TO RUN (song)

Available Versions

List of available versions of THE RISING on this website:

THE RISING [Album version]
THE RISING [Live 16 Oct 2002 version]
THE RISING [Live 22 Nov 2009 version]
THE RISING [Live July 2018 version]
Page last updated: 30 Dec 2019