HOMESTEAD

Album's version

I was born in the corn fields of Kentucky
I moved north in '73
The war was still going strong so I found a job
Rolling steel in a foundry in Homestead

I worked beside a guy named Grzbowski
Who taught me how to keep safe
He said "there's many a man who lost the fingers from their hands"
You could wind up crippled or dead in Homestead

And the steel glowed in the white hot chambers
The furnace spit fire and smoke
And the sunlight came through the cracks in the roof
The dust was so thick you could choke

I heard all the old stories about the twelve hour shifts in the mill
And the union brothers the Pinkertons tried hard to kill
Heard about Frick and Carnegie the day the river ran red
How the union caved in, in Homestead

It was more than a job it was my family
I got married, settled down, bought a home
And in the bars down the street, in the late summer heat
You never had to feel alone

I got work tearin' those old mills down
Until there's nothing left but the sweat and blood in the ground
At night we tuck our little babies in bed
We still pray to the red, white and blue in Homestead
I'm still livin' in Homestead

Page last updated: 19 Nov 2009

Intro

HOMESTEAD is a song co-written by Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen in Los Angeles in late 1993, with Springsteen providing most of the music and Grushecky most of the lyrics. The song is about "a little steel town back in Pittsburg called Homestead," as Grushecky described it. It was released on Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers' 1995 album American Babylon. Bruce Springsteen produced all the album except the title track, and he participated in the recording of most of the songs. He plays guitar, harmonica, and mandolin on this particular one. It is unknown if a Springsteen studio vocal rendition of the song has been recorded.

Recording Sessions

In late October and early November 1993, Bruce Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and Bob Clearmountain mixing) produced a recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill West, Springsteen's home studio in Beverly Hills, CA. Off the session, two tracks would be released on Grushecky's next album, American Babylon: CHAIN SMOKIN' and NEVER BE ENOUGH TIME. Springsteen played guitars, keyboard, and percussion on the first track, and guitar on the second. In addition to him, Grushecky's backing band for this session consisted of musicians organized by Springsteen that he is believed to have utilized for some of his own scattered studio sessions during the period: Zack Alford on drums, Jerome Smith on bass, and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards. Although originally planned as a "one-off", this session with Grushecky turned out to be the start of a major side project undertaking for Springsteen.

Around February 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and Bob Clearmountain mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill West. Off the session, one track would be released on American Babylon: HOMESTEAD, a song Springsteen and Grushecky had co-written together during the previous few months. Springsteen played guitar, harmonica, and mandolin on the track. In addition to him, Grushecky's backing band for this session consisted of musicians organized by Springsteen that he was utilizing for his own scattered studio sessions of the period: Shayne Fontaine on guitar, Zack Alford on drums, TM Stevens on bass, and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards.

Around August 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill East, Springsteen's home studio in Rumson, NJ. Off the session, five tracks would be released on American Babylon: DARK AND BLOODY GROUND (with Bruce playing guitars and sharing harmony vocals), LABOUR OF LOVE (with Bruce playing guitars and mandolin), WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR (with Bruce playing guitar), BILLY'S WALTZ (with Bruce playing mandolin), and ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (with Bruce playing guitar). The first song has been co-written by Springsteen and Grushecky together. In addition to Springsteen, unlike the previous two sessions held on the west coast, the backing musicians for the east coast sessions consisted of The Houserockers, Grushecky's own Pittsburgh-based band.

Around October 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill East. Off the session, three tracks would be released on American Babylon: COMIN' DOWN MARIA, TALK SHOW, and NO STRINGS ATTACHED. The Houserockers were again the session's backing band. But contrary to previous sessions, Springsteen did not play on any of these three recordings, although his wife Patti Scialfa provided backing vocals on the first track.

Although the album was essentially completed at this stage, and filed with the US Copyright Office on 13 Dec 1994, Grushecky had trouble finding an interested record company. "We got turned down by everybody, I mean everybody. That's another reason why it took so long [for release]; I didn't have any funding," Grushecky commented in an interview. "Right around the turn of the year [Dec 1994 - Jan 1995] Pinnacle UK became involved and we knew we had a home for the project".

The final overdubbing/mixing sessions for American Babylon took place around April 1995 in Thrill Hill East, and the album was released in October 1995 on Pinnacle, and reissued in 2004. The album's title track, AMERICAN BABYLON, is the only one not produced by Bruce Springsteen.

Album track listing:

1. DARK AND BLOODY GROUND
2. CHAIN SMOKIN'
3. NEVER BE ENOUGH TIME
4. AMERICAN BABYLON
5. LABOUR OF LOVE
6. WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR
7. HOMESTEAD
8. COMIN' DOWN MARIA
9. TALK SHOW
10. NO STRINGS ATTACHED
11. BILLY'S WALTZ
12. ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

Excerpts from all American Babylon tracks (except TALK SHOW and BILLY'S WALTZ) appear on American Babylon In Conversation, a UK-only promotional CD featuring interviews with both Grushecky and Springsteen recorded on 29 Aug 1995 at Cheers Bar, Long Branch, NJ.

Live History

In October 1995, Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers kicked off the release of their American Babylon album with a six-stop tour dubbed the "October Assault." Introduced as "honorary Houserocker of the week" on the first night, Springsteen joined the band for the majority of the set on all six dates, playing guitar and sharing vocals with Grushecky. At each show, Springsteen came out for American Babylon's WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR and remained on stage for the rest of the set. HOMESTEAD was performed every night during the Springsteen portion of the set.

1. 17 Oct 1995 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
2. 18 Oct 1995 at Tramps Night Club, New York City, NY
3. 19 Oct 1995 at The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
4. 20 Oct 1995 at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA
5. 21 Oct 1995 at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA
6. 24 Oct 1995 at Park West, Chicago, IL

Springsteen performed HOMESTEAD on several more occasions:

• 16 Sep 1996 at Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, PA, during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour, with Joe Grushecky guesting on guitar and vocals.
   
• 13 Dec 1997 at The Cheers, Long Branch, NJ, with Joe Grushecky
   
• 02 Mar 1998 at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers.
   
• 03 Nov 2000 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during the first annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 02 Nov 2002 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during the third annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 01 Nov 2003 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during the fourth annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 18 Jul 2004 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during a Joe Grushecky / Soozie Tyrell show.
   
• 06 Nov 2004 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during the fifth annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 02 Dec 2004 at Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during Flood Aid '04, a benefit concert for Pennsylvanians who suffered damage from Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
   
• 28 Jul 2005 at Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA, during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, with Joe Grushecky sharing the mic with Bruce for dueling verses, and also playing guitar and harmonica.

[Click here to display/hide list of all performances]

Other Official Releases

In addition ot it's release on American Babylon, HOMESTEAD was included on the 1996 Bruce Springsteen tribute CD album The Bruce Springsteen Songbook, which was released in the UK by Connoisseur (cat# VSOP CD 224).

Credits / References

Most info on the recording sessions taken from Brucebase. Info on the October Assault Tour taken from Backstreets Magazine issue #50/51.

Request

If you have any corrections or additional info about this song or the American Babylon recording sessions, please contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.