WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN

Album version

I been knocking on the door that holds the throne
I been looking for the map that leads me home
I been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone
The road of good intentions has gone dry as a bone
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

From Chicago to New Orleans, from the muscle to the bone
From the shotgun shack to the Superdome
There ain't no help, the cavalry stayed home
There ain't no one hearing the bugle blowin'
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

Where're the eyes, the eyes with the will to see
Where're the hearts that run over with mercy
Where's the love that has not forsaken me
Where's the work that set my hands, my soul free
Where's the spirit that'll reign, reign over me
Where's the promise from sea to the shining sea
Where's the promise from sea to the shining sea
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown

We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

Page last updated: 17 Mar 2012

Info

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN is the opening track and the leading single from his 2012 album, Wrecking Ball.

The above lyrics are for Springsteen's studio version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN as released on Wrecking Ball.

Composition and Recording

At a listening party and press conference that was held on 16 Feb 2012 at Théâtre Marigny in Paris, France, Springsteen said that he wrote WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN around 2009 or 2010. "I [then] put it away in my book".

"From sea to shining sea" is an American idiom meaning from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean (or vice versa).

It has not yet been revealed when the song was recorded, but it's probably in 2011. On this track, Bruce Springsteen, Ron Aniello, Soozie Tyrell (backing vocals), Patti Scialfa (backing vocals), Lisa Lowell (backing vocals), and the New York String Section (strings).

Single

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was released on 19 Jan 2012 as a digital single on Amazon.com and iTunes.

The single was issued on CD-R for promotional purposes in the US and the UK.

Bruce Springsteen -- We Take Care Of Our Own CD-R single - Columbia (88697 95189 2) - USA, 2012 1-track promotional CD-R, comes in slimline jewel case with picture insert. 01- WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN

Bruce Springsteen -- We Take Care Of Our Own CD-R single - Columbia (no catalogue number) - UK, 2012 1-track promotional CD-R, comes in a clear plastic sleeve with picture inlay. 01- WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN

Bruce Springsteen -- We Take Care Of Our Own CD-R single - Columbia (no catalogue number) - Japan, 2012 1-track promotional CD-R, comes in a slimline jewel case with picture insert. 01- WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN had moderate success in Spain, Italy, and Japan.

Music Video

A music video of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was first released on 19 Jan 2012 on Bruce Springsteen's YouTube channel to coincide with the single release. It's a basic promo clip containing various new photos of Springsteen and the song's lyrics.

The final, official music video was released on 10 Feb 2012, on both Bruce Springsteen's official website and Bruce Springsteen's YouTube channel. Apparently it was not ready when the single was released the previous month. The video was directed by Thom Zimny and was shot on 13 Jan 2012 in downtown Asbury Park, NJ. Locations include the Savoy Theatre, The Press Room bar, and Frank's Deli & Restaurant. European tourists, who were in town for the Light Of Day concert, were used as extras in the video; they were filmed marching down Mattison Avenue. The video is shot in black and white for the first half and color for the second half

Wrecking Ball

Wrecking Ball is Bruce Springsteen's seventeenth studio album. It was produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen and executive producer Jon Landau, and features special guest appearances from Tom Morello and Matt Chamberlain.

Before the album came together, Springsteen was originally working on a gospel record on which he spent on-and-off about a year. He had written about 30 to 40 songs, including WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN, SHACKLED AND DRAWN, and ROCKY GROUND. Then he decided to drop the project and started focusing on solo material. It was on 09 Jan 2011 that Ron Aniello first went to Colts Neck to help Springsteen finish arrangements for the project he was working on. After they had been working together for about a month, Springsteen wrote EASY MONEY which was a different style of song to what they've been working on before. As Aniello told to WCHR-FM's Tom Cunningham, "things just started steam rolling into this other record, you know, not sure what was going round in his mind." Springsteen was bringing in more songs, and it was evident that the direction of the music was changing. Jon Landau came in, listened to the music, and after a discussion with Springsteen they decided to do a new album. "Literally, this man bought in a new song every day. He just bulldozed us with these songs," Aniello explained.

Springsteen was coming in every morning with a new song and it would start with just him and his guitar. He would then sing a rhythm to Aniello, or sit down at the drums and play a beat. Aniello was looping these drum beats – no drum machines were used on Wrecking Ball – and adding other layers, like loops of percussion, also played by Springsteen. According to Aniello, this was done just for convenience because they were alone in studio, songs were coming in quick, and there were no other musicians there. The loops stayed, and other instruments were added at later stages. "Ron brought a large library of sound that allowed me to explore – like maybe a hip-hop drum loop or country-blues stomp loop," Springsteen told Rolling Stone in 2012. "The actual drums came later. There was no preconceived set of instruments that needed to be used, I could go anywhere, do anything, use anything. It was very wide open." Everybody who was around was participating in the recording. They even jumped on pieces of plywood, built some some risers to stomp on, and hit couches to makes noises.

Wrecking Ball was mainly recorded at Stone Hill Studio, Springsteen's home studio at his Colts Neck, NJ farm house. The album was released on Columbia Records on 05 Mar 2012 in the UK, 06 Mar 2012 in the United States, and 21 Mar 2012 in Japan.

Wrecking Ball was recorded with a large ensemble of musicians. There's a core of six musicians, while all others are just guest artists. Some E Street Band members appear on a few of the tracks. According to Ron Aniello, the album credits are "a mess" and will be revised in future reissues.

• Bruce Springsteen (lead vocals, guitars, banjo, piano, organ, drums, percussion, and loops) appears on all the album's tracks.
• Ron Aniello (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, loops, percussion, hurdy gurdy, and backing vocals) appears on all of the album's tracks. He is also the album producer.
• Matt Chamberlain (drums and percussion) appears on tracks 3, 5, and 8.
• Max Weinberg (drums) is an E Street Band member and appears on tracks 7, 11, and 13.
• Steve Jordan (percussion) has previously appeared on Springsteen's Devils & Dust, playing drums and percussion. He plays percussion on track 2.
• Kevin Buell (drums and backing vocals) is Springsteen's guitar technician. He appears on track 5.
• Charlie Giordano (accordion, piano, B-3 organ, and celeste) recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band and joined the E Street band in 2008. He appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Marc Muller (pedal steel guitar) is a multi-instrumentalist who mainly plays string instruments. He plays pedal steel guitar on track 3.
• Tom Morello (electric guitar) appears on tracks 4 and 6.
• Greg Leisz (banjo, mandola, and lap steel) is a multi-instrumentalist, mainly playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass. He appears on tracks 8 and 11.
• Rob Lebert (electric guitar and backing vocals) appears on tracks 5, 7, 8, 12, and 13.
• Darrell Leonard (trumpet and bass trumpet) is a Los Angeles based trumpet player, composer and arranger. He appears on track 11.
• Curt Ramm (trumpet and cornet) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
• Clark Gayton (trombone) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on tracks 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10.
• Stan Harrison (clarinet, alto sax, and tenor sax) has previously appeared on Springsteen's The Promise, playing tenor saxophone. He appears on tracks 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10.
• Ed Manion (tenor sax and baritone sax) is a member of The Miami Horns and he toured with the E Street band in 1988 and recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on tracks 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10.
• Dan Levine (alto horn and euphonium) is a New York City based musician who plays several horn instruments in studios and live. He appears on tracks 3, 4, 9, and 10.
• Art Baron (euphonium, tuba, sousaphone, and penny whistle) recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on tracks 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10.
• Clarence Clemons (saxophone) was an E Street Band member and appears on tracks 7 and 10.
• Soozie Tyrell (violin and backing vocals) started touring with the E Street band in 2002 and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band in 2006. She appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Patti Scialfa (backing vocals and vocal arrangements) is Springsteen's wife and a member of the E Street Band since 1984. She appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Lisa Lowell (backing vocals) has been singing backup vocals on several Springsteen albums since 1992 and recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. She appears on tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, and 12.
• Cindy Mizelle (background vocals) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band and the E Street Band in 2009. She appears on track 3.
• Ross Peterson (backing vocals) appears on tracks 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, and 13.
• Cliff Norrell (tuba and backing vocals) is the album's engineer. He appears on tracks 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, and 13.
• New York String Section (strings), also known as the New York Chamber Consort, consists of Rob Mathes (orchestration), Sandy Park (string contractor), Lisa Kim (concertmaster), Myumju Lee (violin), Ann Lehmaan (violin), Lizz Lim (violin), Johanna Marher (violin), Annaliesa Place (violin), Fiona Simon (violin), Sharon Yamada (violin), Jung Sun Yu (violin), Karen Dreyfus (viola), Daniel Panner (viola), Robert Rinehart (viola), Mina Smith (cello), and Alan Stepansky (cello). It appears on tracks 1, 4, and 7.
• Victorious Gospel Choir (backing vocals) has previously appeared on Springsteen's The Rising. On Wrecking Ball, the choir includes Michelle Moore, Antoinette Savage, Corinda Carford, Tiffeny Andrews, Soloman Cobbs, and Lillie Brown. It appears on tracks 2, 9, and 10. Michelle Moore is credited separately on the three tracks. The remaining singers are credited individually on track 2, and as the Victorious Gospel Choir on tracks 9 and 10.
• Jeremy McCoy (bass violin) is a bass guitar player. He appears on track 12.
• Dan Shelly (bassoon) is an orchestra bassoon player. He appears on track 12.
• Mark Romatz (contra bassoon) is an orchestra bassoon player. He appears on track 12.
• Steven Van Zandt (mandolin and backing vocals) is an E Street Band member. He appears on tracks 7, 10, and 13.

Wrecking Ball is available in three configurations: standard CD edition, special CD edition featuring two bonus tracks and exclusive packaging, and double-disc vinyl. The album features 11 new Springsteen recordings and the special edition includes two bonus tracks. All 13 tracks are Springsteen compositions, and three of them have previously been released in live forms.

Track list:

1. WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN
2. EASY MONEY
3. SHACKLED AND DRAWN
4. JACK OF ALL TRADES
5. DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN
6. THIS DEPRESSION
7. WRECKING BALL
8. YOU'VE GOT IT
9. ROCKY GROUND
10. LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS
11. WE ARE ALIVE
12. SWALLOWED UP (IN THE BELLY OF THE WHALE) [bonus track]
13. AMERICAN LAND [bonus track]

The album topped the charts in 16 countries, including the United States and the UK.

Live History

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed on 12 Feb 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, during the 54th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony. The song was played with the E Street Band who was joined by a string section. See the live 12 Feb 2012 version for more details. The song was also practiced two days earlier during a private rehearsal session at Staples Center.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed on 27 Feb 2012 at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City, NY, on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The song was played with the E Street Band. See the live 27 Feb 2012 version for more details.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed off-tour on 09 Mar 2012 at Apollo Theater in New York City, NY, during the Sirius Satellite Radio 10-year anniversary celebration. The song was played with the E Street Band. See the live 09 Mar 2012 version for more details.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed on 15 Mar 2012 at Moody Theater in Austin, TX, during an intimate concert following Bruce Springsteen's keynote speech at the South By Southwest music festival. The song was played with the E Street Band. See the live 15 Mar 2012 version for more details.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed on 18 Oct 2012 in Parma, OH, and Ames, IA, during two election rallies for U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama on which Bruce Springsteen appeared that day. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar.

[Click here to display/hide detailed 2012 off-tour performances list]

In preparation for the Wrecking Ball Tour, WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN is known to have been practiced during the private rehearsal that took place on 12 May 2012 in Seville, Spain prior to the tour's European leg.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Wrecking Ball Tour rehearsals performances list]

Available Versions

List of available versions of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN on this website:

• Album version
• Live 12 Feb 2012 version
• Live 27 Feb 2012 version
• Live 09 Mar 2012 version
• Live 15 Mar 2012 version

Credits / References

Thanks Jared Mostowsky and Adrià for the lyrics help.

Some info about the above official Springsteen releases is taken from the Lost In The Flood website.

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