2022_09_New_Jersey_Monthly

EXIT RAMP
ILLUSTRATION: WAYNE BREZINKA
The Rising Revisited
Twenty years later, Springsteen’s album feels like a fuller reflection
than the 9/11 services we’re accustomed to. By Gary Phillips
I
was in first grade on September 11,
2001, so I don’t recall much about a
day that shaped the world I grew up
in. But I’ve had help understanding
the tragedy—and its aftermath—
from a New Jersey rocker.
Raised as a Bruce Springsteen fan, I try
to listen to The Rising every 9/11. While
some songs were penned before the terrorist
attacks, the album, now 20 years old, was
meant to reflect on that day. My interpretation
is that the record encompasses all the
things we should never forget, but often do.
Songs like the title track and “Into the
Fire” are tributes to first responders. Others
convey the grief that many still feel, such as
“Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” and “My City of
Ruins,” which was originally written about
Asbury Park. Those topics and people deserve
their time on the album and at annual
9/11 services; there is certainly no shortage.
But it’s the songs that dive below the surface
and introduce other ideas that make The
Rising a more complete rumination than the
yearly remembrances we’re accustomed to.
The country’s desire for revenge—and the
further bloodshed it caused—is immediately
examined on the opening “Lonesome Day,” as
well as “Empty Sky.” “Better ask questions
before you shoot,” Springsteen warns on the
album starter. We didn’t do that enough then,
and we don’t now, glossing over past errors
with ceremonies that prioritize patriotism.
Two decades later, many have confused
patriotism with nationalism and xenophobia.
Surely, 9/11 fueled some of that hate. It’s
why “Worlds Apart,” a song about
an interfaith relationship and a
“troubled country,” strikes me as
the album’s most poignant offering.
With a blend of Qawwali vocals (a
form of Sufi Islaamic devotional
singing) and American rock,
Springsteen begged for love and
understanding between different
cultures when anti-Muslim fear
was on the rise. A similar plea can
be inferred from “Let’s Be Friends
(Skin to Skin),” but sadly, we are
still struggling to achieve that.
We have also failed, in many
ways, to take care of those who lost
someone or something besides
their own life on 9/11. Health programs
and victims’ funds have not
received the financing, attention
or urgency they require, further
burdening survivors. The Rising
highlights people in such positions:
“You’re Missing” conjures
images of a family without a father,
while “Nothing Man,” written in
the 1990s, can be repurposed as a
story about a first responder battling
PTSD and survivor’s guilt.
Other thought-provoking tracks
include “The Fuse,” which hints at
self-medicating via vices during
hard times. The haunting “Paradise”
shifts perspectives—among
a suicide bomber, a Pentagon
widow, and a survivor desperate
to reunite with a loved one—and
challenges faith. Even the upbeat
“Mary’s Place” comments on
mourning and religion.
Despite all the sorrow, The Rising
still conveys resilience. “Countin’ on
a Miracle” uses fairy-tale fixtures
to overcome loss, and “Further On
(Up the Road),” another pre-9/11
creation, expresses a soldier’s hope
for a brighter future. “One sunny
morning we’ll rise I know,” Springsteen
sings.
That line, and much of The Rising,
still sounds relevant. But it
also feels unfulfilled, and much
of the album’s messages appear
ignored in a divided country.
And so I’ll spend this 9/11 like I
usually do: blasting the Boss and
thinking about some of the things
we’ve forgotten.
SEPTEMBER 2022 NEW JERSEY MONTHLY 127