"Lonesome Day" is a song written by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and initially performed by Springsteen and the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

. It is the opening track of his 2002 album '' The Rising''. It was released as a single as the follow-up to the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

on December 2, 2002 and reached #36 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, #39 in the UK, and #47 in Sweden. It fared much better on the

Adult Alternative Airplay Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...

chart, reaching #3.

Content

"Lonesome Day" sets the tone for ''The Rising'' album as one of several songs on the album with lyrics that appear to be inspired by the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. However, like other songs on the album, the lyrics work well as a reflection of the general human condition as well as the specific incident that occurred on September 11. The narrator of the song is attempting to deal with the loneliness due to the loss of his (or her) beloved. The narrator sings that "It's going to be okay/If I can just get through this lonesome day." But although the narrator now grieves the loss, he realizes that he did not really know his beloved that well and he acknowledges that he had been less than perfect in his relationship with the now absent beloved:

Better ask questions before you shoot Deceit and betrayal's bitter fruit It's hard to swallow come time to pay That taste on your tongue don't easily slip away Let kingdom come I'm going to find my way Through this lonesome day.

The lyrics in the 2nd verse allude to the possibility of revenge: "A little revenge and this too shall pass." This is representative of one side of the conflicted feelings reflected in the album about the possible response to the September 11 attacks, where some songs like this one and "Empty Sky" allude to revenge and others, such as "Paradise" and "Worlds Apart" hope for mutual understanding. Springsteen biographer

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born ) is an American music critic and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has published num ...

interprets the lines in the 3rd verse that you "better ask questions before you shoot" as recognition that revenge will not work. "Lonesome Day" also sets the tone for the album musically. It is a midtempo rock song that also has

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

elements.

Soozie Tyrell Soozie Tyrell (born May 4, 1957), formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly the Sessions Band. Early life and educatio ...

's strident violin is prominent, introducing one of several new musical textures that the E-Street Band employs on the album. Producer Brendan O'Brien himself plays a

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

, which musically hints that the narrator is remembering an innocent past that never was.

Music video

The music video of the song was shot in

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...

and directed by

Mark Pellington Mark Pellington (born March 17, 1962) is an American film director, writer, and producer. Life and career Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebacker who played American Football, football with t ...

. Unlike most music videos, Springsteen recorded the song live in each take during shooting of the video, over a 16-hour period.

Release

Since its initial appearance on ''The Rising'', "Lonesome Day" has appeared on several subsequent Bruce Springsteen releases. A live performance from

The Rising Tour The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003. It followed the release of their 2002 album '' The Rising''. Itin ...

was included on the DVD '' Live in Barcelona'', and a live performance from the Working on a Dream Tour was included on the 2010 DVD '' London Calling: Live in Hyde Park''. It was also included on the 2003 compilation album ''

The Essential Bruce Springsteen ''The Essential Bruce Springsteen'' is a compilation album by Bruce Springsteen, released on November 11, 2003. The collection is part of a series of ''Essential'' sets released by Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music. It includes songs from vari ...

'' and on the 2009 compilation album '' Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Greatest Hits''.

Charts

Release history

References

External links

Lyrics at official Springsteen website
{{Authority control Bruce Springsteen songs 2002 singles Music about the September 11 attacks Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Columbia Records singles Music videos directed by Mark Pellington