Album version
Two, three, four
Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free
If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one legged dog making his way down the street
If you've ever seen a one legged dog then you've seen me
Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood it hits the floor
Tell me friend can you ask for anything more
Tell me can you ask for anything more
Have you ever seen a scarecrow filled with nothing but dust and weeds
If you've ever seen that scarecrow then you've seen me
Have you ever seen a one armed man punching at nothing but the breeze
If you've ever seen a one armed man then you've seen me
Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood it hits the floor
Tell me friend can you ask for anything more
Tell me can you ask for anything more
These things that have comforted me I drive away (anything more)
This place that is my home I cannot stay (anything more)
My only faith's in the broken bones and bruises I display
Have you ever seen a one legged man trying to dance his way free
If you've ever seen a one legged man then you've seen me
THE WRESTLER is a song written by Bruce Springsteen for the 2008 movie The Wrestler and released as a bonus track on his 2009 album Working On A Dream. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of THE WRESTLER as released in 2009.
The album version of THE WRESTLER was included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2015 edition) compilation album and the Best Of Bruce Springsteen (digital edition) compilation album.
Bruce Springsteen and Mickey Rourke met back in the eighties at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. The two became motorcycle cruising buddies in 1989 and 1990 when Springsteen was living in Los Angeles, CA. Rourke owned a short-lived club in Los Angeles called Rubber Club and Springsteen is known to have made two onstage appearances there; on 10 Mar 1989 he joined local band The Mighty Hornets for one song and on 25 Apr 1989 he joined an unidentified local band onstage for one song.
According to film director Darren Aronofsky, Springsteen is a huge fan of Rourke. He's seen every movie of his and he was hoping for him to get back on track making movies. He was following him and he wanted to know about his projects, but the two "haven't been in touch during Mickey's lost years." Rourke sent Springsteen a letter and a copy of the movie script. In May 2008, Springsteen called him in the middle of the night and told him that he's touring in Europe and said, "I don't know if I can do this, but if I can, I'll try something."
Springsteen wrote THE WRESTLER in Europe during the Magic Tour, sometime between late May and early July 2008. In July, he called Rourke and Aronofsky complimenting them on the movie and adding that he wrote a song for the film's character. Rourke and Aronofsky went to see Springsteen in concert in late July 2008 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, NJ. Rourke introduced his director to Springsteen who picked up his guitar and proceeded to play his new composition. "I literally got stage fright," Aronofsky told MTV. "I never knew what stage fright was! My chin just went down, and I said in my head, 'Oh my God, I'm freezing up in front of Bruce Springsteen.'"
Aronofsky told MTV, "Then we started talking, and then he played the song, and it was amazing. And he's like, 'I don't know if it's good yet.'" Then Springsteen offered the song for free. The song came while the movie was at the end of its editing phase. This late addition caused the movie's screening debut to take place at the end of the Venice Film Festival. Director Darren Aronofsky described it as "a wonderful acoustic piece; makes me choke up every time I hear it. [Springsteen] really captured the spirit of the film and Mickey [Rourke]'s character in the piece."
THE WRESTLER was produced by Bruce Springsteen who also handles vocals and all instruments, including guitar and keyboards. The song was recorded by Toby Scott at Thrill Hill Recording, Springsteen's home studio in Colts Neck, NJ. It was mixed by Bob Clearmountain at Mix This! in Los Angeles, CA, assisted by Brandon Duncan.
THE WRESTLER, as heard over the film's closing credits, opens and closes with a long coda and clocks at 5:25. However, the track was released in a 3:50 edited version on the Working On A Dream album.
For THE WRESTLER, Bruce Springsteen received a Broadcast Film Critics Association award for Best Song and a Golden Globe award for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. He also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, an MTV Movie Awards nomination for Best Song from a Movie, and a Satellite Awards nomination for Best Original Song.
The 66th Golden Globe Awards nominations were announced on 11 Dec 2008. The Wrestler was nominated for three awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, Best Original Song - Motion Picture, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. The awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA, on 11 Jan 2009 and was telecast on NBC. Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa were in attendance. Rourke won the Best Performance by an Actor award for his role and Springsteen won the Best Original Song for THE WRESTLER. Springsteen was presented the award statuette by
Sting. In his acceptance speech, Springsteen briefly talked about how the song came to life:
"All right! This is uh... the only time I'm gonna be in competition with Clint Eastwood, I know that for sure (laughs). Felt pretty good, too! (giggles) Anyway, Mickey called me in Ireland and he asked me for uh... some music, he told me a little bit about the character, he said some people invest themselves in their pain and they turn away from love and the things that strengthen and nurture their lives. He said this was a guy that didn't figure... hadn't figured that out. So I said, 'Well, I know a couple of those guys...' And so, the song. So... first and foremost, I'd like to thank Mickey. Without the call I wouldn't have written the song, without his inspiration. Thank you brother, for a beautiful performance, thank you. Thank you for thinking of me! Um... like to thank Darren and all the folks involved with the film for letting me be a small part of their picture, thank you. Uh... love to my strong and lovely wife Patti, and hello to Evan, Jess, and Sam at home. Happy birthday, Big Man Clarence Clemons!"
THE WRESTLER was widely expected to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. But in what Rolling Stone magazine described as "shocking news", it was snubbed on 22 Jan 2009 when the Academy nominated only three songs in the category rather than the usual five.
THE WRESTLER, the third single from the Working On A Dream album, was officially released on 16 Dec 2008 on the iTunes Store in advance of the film's US major cities openings in the subsequent days. That was the "album version" with the opening and closing codas edited.
1-track promotional CD-R's, containing the regular 3:50 album version or the unedited 5:25 version, were also issued.
The single made its first national singles sales chart appearance when it entered the Swedish Singles Chart at position #25. It also charted in Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, and the UK.
| Country | Chart | Peak position |
| Canada | Canadian Hot 100 | 63 |
| Ireland | Irish Singles Chart | 40 |
| The Netherland | MegaCharts | 56 |
| Norway | VG-lista | 14 |
| Sweden | Sverigetopplistan | 19 |
| UK | UK Singles Chart | 93 |
| USA | Bubbling Under Hot 100 | 20 |
A music video for THE WRESTLER was filmed in late January 2009 (on 25 Jan 2009 according to Brucebase) in a New Brunswick, NJ boxing gym, and was released on Springsteen's social networking websites. It shows Springsteen, with his hair combed back, in a ring and weightlifting, interspersed with scenes from the film. An extended version of the video was made available on iTunes and showed only Springsteen. The music video was included as a bonus feature on some versions of the home video release of the film.
A behind-the-scenes clip for THE WRESTLER music video was made and released as part of the iTunes package; it contains parts of the song with voiceovers of Springsteen giving his interpretation of the film's main character, how that fit into his normal model of human nature, and how he tried to write the song to reflect this.
[Spoken:] It's basically a song sort of about being damaged and living long, you know. Damage, what it does to somebody, the inability to get in. The inability to... to stand the things that nurture you. These things will, will give you a life, if you can stand them. I read the script and I said, "Okay, this is about somebody who doesn't have these capabilities, and instead, you know, you find your identity in the damage that's been done to you.
Tell me friend can you ask for anything more
Tell me can you ask for anything more
[Spoken:] You find your identity in your wounds, places where you've been beat up and you turn them into a medal. And it's a very dangerous thing to do.
Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door
Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before
Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood it hits the floor
Tell me friend can you ask for anything more
Tell me can you ask for anything more
These things that have comforted me I drive away (anything more)
This place that is my home I cannot stay (anything more)
My only faith's in the broken bones and bruises I display
Have you ever seen a one legged man trying to dance his way free
If you've ever seen a one legged man then you've seen me
[Spoken:] We all wear our... the things we survived with some honor. But the honor is in... you wear those things but also transcending them. So this is somebody in search of that honor. He's living in search of that honor.
Working On A Dream is Bruce Springsteen's 24th album (and 16th studio album). It was officially announced, along with its track listing, on 17 Nov 2008, and released on 27 Jan 2009 on Columbia Records. The album was produced by Brendan O'Brien and recorded with the E Street Band during breaks on their 2007-2008 Magic Tour. It was recorded and mixed at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, GA with additional recording in New York City, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.
Bruce Springsteen said about the album, "Towards the end of recording 'Magic,' excited by the return to pop production sounds, I continued writing. When my friend producer Brendan O'Brien heard the new songs, he said, 'Let's keep going.' Over the course of the next year, that's just what we did, recording with the E Street Band during the breaks on last year's tour. I hope 'Working on a Dream' has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done. All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes, and we all had a blast making this one from beginning to end."
The album features 12 new Springsteen compositions plus a bonus track and clocks at 51:08.
Side 1:
Side 2:
Side 4:
Side 4:
A deluxe edition of Working On A Dream features a bonus DVD that contains a 38-minute behind-the-scenes footage of the recording of the album. Produced, directed, and edited by Thom Zimny, it includes studio footage edited to the tracks of MY LUCKY DAY, QUEEN OF THE SUPERMARKET, KINGDOM OF DAYS, WORKING ON A DREAM, LIFE ITSELF, and THE LAST CARNIVAL. It also contains demos and early band versions of the songs as they were worked up. The DVD also includes video for A NIGHT WITH THE JERSEY DEVIL.
The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released as part of Sony BMG'S (previously Sony Music Entertainment) series of "Essential" sets. According to Springsteen's liner notes comments, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour.
The collection is fundamentally a 2-disc set (clocking at 153:37) compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Live In New York City release. A 3-disc limited edition (clocking at 201:04) was also released. It includes a bonus third disc comprising of a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.
The Essential Bruce Springsteen was released on 11 Nov 2003 on Columbia Records. It debuted and peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart where it spent 13 weeks. It also reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records by the RIAA on 16 Dec 2003.
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
Disc 3:
The Essential Bruce Springsteen was reissued on 16 Oct 2015, this time as a 2-disc set (clocking at 156:25) with an updated track list, compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Greatest Hits (1995 edition) collection. This 2015 reissue features remastered tracks not found in that form on other Springsteen releases.
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
Best Of Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released on Columbia Records on 19 Apr 2024. The album is collection of original songs spanning Springsteen's entire career, from 1973 to 2020. The release was officially announced on 01 Mar 2024.
Two variants of the album were released: the 18-track physical releases and an expanded 31-track download-only version. The physical releases include a single-disc CD and as a two-disc LP set. Four editions of the vinyl release were issued: a regular edition on black vinyl, an Atlantic Blue vinyl exclusive to Europe, a Highway Yellow vinyl exclusive to independent retailers, and a Jersey Devil Red vinyl exclusive to Amazon Music.
The album version of THE WRESTLER appears on one Bruce Springsteen promo-only sampler and some various artists albums and promo samplers.
Other versions of THE WRESTLER were also officially released.
In preparation for the Working On A Dream Tour, THE WRESTLER was performed during both of the tour's two public warm-up rehearsal shows that took place in March 2009 in Asbury Park. The song is also known to have been practiced during at least one of the private rehearsals that took place in March 2009 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's first leg.
THE WRESTLER was performed 19 times during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009). On this tour, the song was played in a quiet arrangement and featuring a minute-long synthesizer-style introduction. The live 04 May 2009 version of THE WRESTLER was released on the Nassau Coliseum 05.04.09 official live download in 2020.
Bruce Springsteen's official studio version of THE WRESTLER appears in one movie.
At least 10 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's THE WRESTLER.
Thanks John Wolf with the help with the behind-the-scenes clip.
List of available versions of THE WRESTLER on this website:
THE WRESTLER [Album version]
