"Rocky Ground" is a song written and recorded by American musician

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 ...

. It is the second single from his album ''

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'' and was released exclusively in select stores as a limited-edition 7-inch 45-rpm vinyl single as a part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

on April 21, 2012. The song made its live debut on March 9, 2012, during Springsteen and the E Street Band's performance at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

. A music video for the song was first teased on

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and

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on May 24, 2012, and released the following day on May 25, 2012. The music video features the lyrics being written down on paper in sync with the song, interchanging this with a series of urban and suburban imagery. On June 15, 2012, a video for the "Modern Mix" of the song was released. The remixed version was produced by Ron Aniello and Matthew Koma.

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

named the song the 7th best song of 2012.

Lyrics and music

The song is heavy with a religious theme and features a gospel choir backing Springsteen. Singer Michelle Moore provides backing vocals along with

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

, a first for a Springsteen album. Springsteen has stated he originally attempted to do the rapping himself but was not satisfied with the sound. "Rocky Ground" contains excerpts of "I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord", a traditional gospel song performed by Congregation of the Church of God in Christ and recorded by

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music during the 20th century. He was a musician, folklorist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activ ...

in 1942.

Track listing

#"Rocky Ground": 4:40 #"The Promise (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live from the Carousel,

Asbury Park 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 dec ...

)": 5:59

Personnel

* Bruce Springsteen – lead vocal, guitars, percussion and loops * Ron Aniello – drums and loops * Art Baron – euphonium and tuba * Clark Gayton – trombone *

Charlie Giordano Charles Giordano (born October 13, 1954) is an American keyboardist and accordionist. Giordano is known primarily for his work with Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band, replacing Danny Federici as the band's organist following the ...

– piano and organ *

Stan Harrison Stan Harrison (born December 8, 1953) is an American saxophonist who is also accomplished in playing other woodwind instruments, namely the French horn, flute and clarinet. He has also written music for television. Harrison released his first solo ...

– clarinet, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone * Dan Levine – alto horn and euphonium * Ed Manion – tenor saxophone and baritone saxophone * Michelle Moore – backing vocals and rapping * Curt Ramm – trumpet and cornet *

Patti Scialfa Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into t ...

– backing vocals * Victorious Gospel Choir – backing vocals

References

External links

Brucespringsteen.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocky Ground 2012 songs Bruce Springsteen songs Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Columbia Records singles 2012 singles Song recordings produced by Ron Aniello Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen