Death to My Hometown

2012 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Death to My Hometown"

Promo single cover in the Netherlands

Single by Bruce Springsteen

from the album Wrecking Ball

Released

May 2012

Recorded

2011

Genre

Rock, folk punk

Length

3:29

Label

Columbia

Songwriter(s)

Bruce Springsteen

Producer(s)

Ron Aniello, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau (executive prod.)

Bruce Springsteen singles chronology

"Rocky Ground"
(2012)

"Death to My Hometown"
(2012)

"High Hopes"
(2013)

Music video

"Death to My Hometown" on YouTube

"Death to My Hometown" is a song written and recorded by American musician Bruce Springsteen and was the third single from his album, Wrecking Ball. It is a protest song, as well as a prominent example of Springsteen's experimentation with Celtic rock rhythms.

A music video for the song was released through Springsteen's website on April 13, 2012, and was compiled from live performances and rehearsals at the Apollo Theater, Atlanta, and SXSW featuring Tom Morello.^[1]

History

"Death to My Hometown" became a staple of the Wrecking Ball Tour, usually being played towards the beginning of the sets. The tin whistle riff from the album version was handed over to the newly assembled 5-piece horn section during the shows. The song had been played at every Wrecking Ball show as of June 11, 2012.^[2]^[3]

Themes

The song is an allegorical protest song concerning the causes and fallout of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Springsteen uses archaic imagery to show how "death" came to his hometown not by war, but by allegedly reckless economic practices. He also references the supposed lack of accountability for the practices by bankers that allegedly led to the crisis. "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," he sings.^[4]

The album version of the song contains a sample of "The Last Words of Copernicus", a hymn by Sarah Lancaster on the subject of death from The Sacred Harp, recorded by Alan Lomax in 1959.^[5]

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[6]	51

Personnel

Bruce Springsteen – lead vocal, guitar
Ron Aniello – bass guitar, keyboards, loops, backing vocals
Art Baron – euphonium, tuba
Kevin Buell – drums and backing vocals
Matt Chamberlain – drums and percussion
Charlie Giordano - organ
Rob LeBret - backing vocals
Clif Norrell - backing vocals
Ross Petersen – backing vocals
Soozie Tyrell – violin

References

^ "Tom Morello Joins Bruce Springsteen in 'Death to My Hometown' Video". Loudwire. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ "Death to My Hometown by Bruce Springsteen Song Statistics - setlist.fm". setlist.fm. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ Video on YouTube
^ "Death to My Hometown". Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ Plunkett, John; Karlsberg, Jesse P. (March 28, 2012). "Bruce Springsteen's Sacred Harp Sample". The Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter. 1 (1).
^ "Bruce Springsteen – Death To My Hometown" (in Dutch). Ultratip.

External links

Brucespringsteen.net

Bruce Springsteen songs

1970s

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.	"Blinded by the Light" "Growin' Up" "Mary Queen of Arkansas" "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" "Lost in the Flood" "The Angel" "For You" "Spirit in the Night" "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City"
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle	"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" "Incident on 57th Street" "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
Born to Run	"Thunder Road" "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" "Night" "Backstreets" "Born to Run" "She's the One" "Meeting Across the River" "Jungleland"
Darkness on the Edge of Town	"Badlands" "Adam Raised a Cain" "Racing in the Street" "The Promised Land" "Prove It All Night" "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

1980s

The River	"The Ties That Bind" "Sherry Darling" "Independence Day" "Hungry Heart" "Out in the Street" "The River" "Point Blank" "Cadillac Ranch" "Fade Away" "Stolen Car" "Ramrod" "Wreck on the Highway"
Nebraska	"Nebraska" "Atlantic City" "Johnny 99" "Highway Patrolman" "Open All Night"
Born in the U.S.A.	"Born in the U.S.A." "Cover Me" "Darlington County" "Working on the Highway" "Downbound Train" "I'm on Fire" "No Surrender" "Bobby Jean" "I'm Goin' Down" "Glory Days" "Dancing in the Dark" "My Hometown"
Tunnel of Love	"Tougher Than the Rest" "Spare Parts" "Tunnel of Love" "Brilliant Disguise" "One Step Up"

1990s

Human Touch	"Human Touch " "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" "Pony Boy"
Lucky Town	"Better Days" "If I Should Fall Behind"
The Ghost of Tom Joad	"The Ghost of Tom Joad" "Youngstown" "The New Timer"

2000s

The Rising	"Lonesome Day" "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" "The Rising" "My City of Ruins"
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions	"Old Dan Tucker" "Jesse James" "Mrs. McGrath" "O Mary Don't You Weep" "John Henry" "Erie Canal" "Jacob's Ladder" "Eyes on the Prize" "Shenandoah" "Pay Me My Money Down" "We Shall Overcome" "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" "Buffalo Gals" "How Can I Keep from Singing?" "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?"
Magic	"Radio Nowhere" "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" "Long Walk Home"
Working on a Dream	"Outlaw Pete" "My Lucky Day" "Working on a Dream" "The Wrestler"

2010s

Wrecking Ball	"We Take Care of Our Own" "Shackled and Drawn" "Death to My Hometown" "Wrecking Ball" "Rocky Ground" "Land of Hope and Dreams"
High Hopes	"High Hopes" "American Skin (41 Shots)" "Just Like Fire Would" "Hunter of Invisible Game" "Dream Baby Dream"
Western Stars	"Tucson Train" "Western Stars" "There Goes My Miracle" "Hello Sunshine"

2020s

Letter to You	"Letter to You" "The Power of Prayer" "Ghosts" "I'll See You in My Dreams"
Only the Strong Survive	"Only the Strong Survive" "Nightshift" "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" "Turn Back the Hands of Time" "When She Was My Girl" "Hey, Western Union Man" "I Wish It Would Rain" "Don't Play That Song" "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" "7 Rooms of Gloom" "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" "Someday We'll Be Together"