Bruce Springsteen lyrics -- Bruce Springsteen shows -- Bruce Springsteen records

Song title: Youngstown


Youngstown

Here in northeast Ohio
Back in eighteen-o-three
James and Dan Heaton
Found the ore that was linin’ yellow creek
They built a blast furnace
Here along the shore
And they made the cannonballs
That helped the union win the war

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
Sweet Jenny I’m sinkin’ down [1]
Here darlin’ in Youngstown

Well my daddy worked the furnaces
Kept ’em hotter then hell
I come home from ’Nam worked my way to scarfer
A job that’d suit the devil as well
Taconite coke and limestone
Fed my children and made my pay
Then smokestacks reachin’ like the arms of god
Into a beautiful sky of soot and clay

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I’m sinkin’ down
Here darlin’ in Youngstown

Well my daddy come on the 0hio works
When he come home from world war two
Now the yards just scrap and rubble
He said, “Them big boys did what Hitler couldn’t do”
These mills they built the tanks and bombs
That won this countries wars
We sent our sons to Korea and Vietnam
Now were wondering what they were dyin’ for

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny, I’m sinkin’ down
Here darlin’ in Youngstown

From the Monongahela valley
To the Mesabi iron range
To the coal mines of Appalachia
The story’s always the same
Seven-hundred tons of metal a day
Now sir you tell me the world’s changed
Once I made you rich enough
Rich enough to forget my name

And Youngstown, and Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I’m sinkin’ down
Here darlin’ in Youngstown

When I die I don’t want no part of heaven, I would not do heaven’s work well
I pray the devil comes and takes me to stand in the fiery furnaces of hell

Notes: Published on TGOTJ, played in that tour and during the whole Reunion tour, becoming soon one of its highlights. The live version recorded on "Live in NYC" is surely one of the best things that Bruce and the E Street Band have ever (officially) released.
[1] "Jenny" is the name of one of the Youngstown plant's furnaces.

Statistics from the KILLING FLOOR (www.brucespringsteen.it) database

Published on the following official releases:

First known live performance: 21/11/1995 State Theatre, New Brunswick,NJ ,USA
Last known live performance: 25/02/2017 Mt. Smart Stadium, Auckland ,New Zealand

Song 'history':


Published on the solo album THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD, in 1996.
Often played during the Ghost of Tom Joad tour (76 times)
A real milestone of each setlist of the Reunion tour
The last NY show(s) of the Reunion Tour were released in both CD and DVD (more songs) 'LIVE IN NYC', which included also this song
One only performance during the Rising tour (04/12/2002 Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh,PA ,USA)
Played during the Vote For Change tour, in October 2004.
Played during the rehearsals for the Devils and dust Tour, in Mar/Apr 2005.
Not much used during the Devils and Dust tour, deserving only less than a dozen renderings
One only performance during the The Seeger Session tour (14/11/2006 Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield ,GB)
During the Magic tour, the song was played less than a dozen times
The Working on a Dream tour counted 16 apparitions of this song
Bruce inserted it 18 times in the setlists of the Wrecking Ball tour
Not much used during the High Hopes tour, deserving only 3 renderings
It only saw the light less than a dozen times in the whole 2016 The River tour
Performed 10 times during the 2017 Summer tour

The song was also played in informal happenings or off-tour appearances
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database