WRECKING BALL

Live 09 Mar 2012 version

I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey, some misty years ago
Through the mud and the beer, blood and the cheers, I've seen champions come and go
Well, if you got the guts mister, yeah if you've got the balls
If you think it's your time, step to the line, bring on your wrecking ball

Bring on your wrecking ball
Bring on your wrecking ball
Take your best shot, let me see what you've got
Bring on your wrecking ball

Now my home's here in these meadowlands where mosquitoes grow big as airplanes
Where the blood is spilled, the arena is filled, and giants play the game
So raise up your glasses and let me hear your voices call, come on!
Tonight all the dead are here, so bring on your wrecking ball

Bring on your wrecking
Bring on your wrecking
Take your best shot, let me see what you've
Bring on your wrecking

One, two, a one two three four!

Yeah, we know that come tomorrow, none of this will be here
So hold tight on your anger, hold tight on your anger
Hold tight to your anger, and don't fall to your fears

Now when all this steel and these stories, they drift away to rust
And all our youth and beauty, it's been given to the dust
And the game hssbeen decided and we're burning the clock downbeen decided and we're burning the clock down
And all our little victories and glories have turned into parking lots
When your best hopes and desires are scattered through the wind
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
And hard times come, and hard times go
Yeah, just
to come again

Bring on your wrecking
Bring on your wrecking
Come on and take your best shot, let me see what you've
Bring on your wrecking
Bring on your wrecking (bring on your wrecking ball)
Bring on your wrecking (bring on your wrecking ball)
Come on and take your best shot, let me see what you've
Bring on your wrecking

One, two, a one two three four!
(Whoa whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)
Bring on your wrecking ball
(Bring on your wrecking ball)
Bring on your wrecking ball
(Bring on your wrecking ball)
(Whoa whoa-whoa)

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 09 Mar 2012 performance of WRECKING BALL at Apollo Theater in New York City, NY, during the Sirius Satellite Radio 10-year anniversary celebration. Shortly after the show, a pro-shot video for the song was made available on Sirius XM Radio's YouTube channel.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performing WRECKING BALL on 09 Mar 2012 at Apollo Theater, New York City, NY

The 09 Mar 2012 Show

On 09 Mar 2012 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed a special concert at the 1500-seat historic Apollo Theater, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Sirius Satellite Radio, which has been hosting exclusive Bruce Springsteen channel E Street Radio since October 2005. Tickets were only available to special guests, plus a couple of hundred winners of a contest held by Sirius XM for its subscribers. Among the crowd were numerous celebrities, including Tom Hanks and family, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ben Stiller, Elvis Costello, Harry Belafonte, Michael J. Fox, Tommy Hilfiger, Brian Williams and many more. The concert, which raised money for WhyHunger charity, was broadcast live on E Street Radio and was also professionally filmed.

Promotional poster for the 09 Mar 2012 show at Apollo Theater, New York City, NY

Marquee for the 09 Mar 2012 show at Apollo Theater -- Christopher Phillips photo (Backstreets.com), used with permission

Handwritten setlist for the 09 Mar 2012 show at Apollo Theater, New York City, NY

In November 2014 the complete 09 Mar 2012 concert was officially released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net (see the "Official Live Downloads" section below for more details). The show was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, ME.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Apollo Theater 03/09/12

Official Live Downloads

Prior to the High Hopes Tour, Bruce Springsteen's management announced a new service allowing fans to download concert recordings approximately 48 hours after each show. The initial plan required fans to purchase a special USB wristband, which could then be used to download a single High Hopes Tour show of the purchaser's choice and also functions as a regular reusable USB flash drive. The wristband, which could be purchased online or at the concert venue, was priced at $40. Following some negative response from fans over the high cost for the wristband, Springsteen's management subsequently announced a separate cheaper option for purchasing shows directly, without the need for the wristband. The shows were available for purchase and download via Live Nation, Bruce Springsteen's concert promoter, priced at $9.99 for MP3 and $14.99 for FLAC. Audio recordings for 31 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, and 03 May 2014) were released as such and they were available until 30 Jun 2014.

On 17 Nov 2014, Live.BruceSpringsteen.net was launched. It's a new addition to the official website, serving as an online store offering high-quality live concert recordings as well as high-resolution digital releases of Springsteen's album catalog. The download store is powered by Nugs.net in cooperation with Columbia Records. Audio recordings for 30 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, 03 May 2014, and 18 May 2014) were re-released on the new download store in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Nugs.net adopted the MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) format on 24 May 2017. From then on, all Bruce Springsteen live concert recordings, including the previously released ones, became also available in MQA.

Audio recordings for all 75 The River Tour 2016 dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Audio recordings for all 14 Summer '17 Tour dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Archival releases were periodically released on the same site, as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archive Series. These shows were also made available in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless FLAC or ALAC, 24-bit FLAC or ALAC or MQA, DSD, and audio CD-R. So far 90 shows (or sets of shows) were released from the ongoing series.

Available Versions

List of available versions of WRECKING BALL on this website:

Page last updated: 14 Nov 2015