YOUNGSTOWN

Live 09 Dec 1995 version



[Spoken intro:] Thank you, uh... we'll continue in that theme there. This is a song about how (clears throat)... how quick we are at sort of abandoning our own, you know. Uh, when I was just about finished with the songs for most of the Tom Joad record, I was staying up at night and had a little insomnia and went, went downstairs into my living room and pulled a book off the shelf and it was a book called "Journey To Nowhere". And uh, text by a fella named Dale Maharidge and photos by a fella named Michael Williamson and (clears throat) what they did was they... they traveled across the country in the mid-80's by train, uh, hopped in boxcars and all the way across into California and up into Oregon and they were sort of chronicling what they were seeing happening out there at the time, you know, as we were all kind of sitting home and hearing about "Morning in America". I was hearing from a lot of folks that I was seeing, people who worked at these different food banks and, and they reported in the book that, that there were more people coming in and needed those services than ever before, that there were people coming in who'd never been in before, there were people who previously, you know, held, held good jobs, had supported their families, you know. And uh... all night, you know I finished the book in one night and put it, put it down and I remember thinking, well, I'm a guy, like, I know, I know one thing, I know how to do one thing and what would happen if you're doing, you've done something for 30 years, and something that's built, built the buildings that we live in and built the, built the bridges that we cross, people who've given their sons to die in, in the wars for this country, who end up thrown out like yesterday's newspapers. So, you know, what would I say to my kids if they came home at night and I couldn't feed them or I couldn't, if they were hurt and I couldn't help them or I couldn't make them safe, insure their health, you know. I don't know. It strikes to such a central part of who you are... This is called "Youngstown". (cheers)

Here in northeast Ohio, back in eighteen-o-three
James and Danny Heaton found the ore that was lining Yellow Creek
They built a blast furnace here along the shore
And they made the cannon balls that helped the Union win the war

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinking down
Here darling in Youngstown

Well my daddy worked the furnaces, he kept 'em hotter than hell
I come home from 'Nam worked my way to scarfer, a job that'd suit the devil as well
That taconite coke and limestone fed my children, made my pay
Them smokestacks reaching like the arms of God into a beautiful sky of soot and clay

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinking down
Here darling in Youngstown

Well my daddy came on the Ohio works when he come home from World War Two
Now that yard's just scrap and rubble, he said that those big boys did what Hitler couldn't do
These mills they built the tanks and bombs that won this country's wars
We sent our sons to Korea and Vietnam, now we're wondering what they were dying for

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinking down
Here darling in Youngstown

From the Monongahela valley to the Mesabi iron range
To the coal mines of Appalachia, the story's always the same
Seven hundred tons of metal a day, and sir you tell me the world changed
Once I made you rich enough, rich enough to forget my name

And Youngstown, and Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinking down
Here darling in Youngstown

Now when I die I don't want no part of heaven, I would not do heaven's work well
I pray the devil comes and takes me to stand in the fiery furnaces of hell


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 09 Dec 1995 performance of YOUNGSTOWN at Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA, during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour.

Ticket stub for the 09 Dec 1995 show at Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA
Ticket stub for the 09 Dec 1995 show at Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA

Columbia Records Radio Hour

A selection of four studio tracks from The Ghost Of Tom Joad album (see track list below) intercepted with interview segments with journalist Bob Costas were originally broadcast on the 21 Nov 1995 edition of the syndicated Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show which aired on U.S. album oriented rock stations. Costas conducted the interview with Bruce Springsteen that same day (21 Nov 1995) either prior to or following Springsteen's public warm-up show at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ. A total of 35 minutes of the 90-minute interview were used in the radio show.

Additionally, three songs from Springsteen's 08 Dec 1995 show and seven from his 09 Dec 1995 show at Upper Darby's Tower Theater (see track list below) were broadcast on the 14 Dec 1995 edition of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

The complete Columbia Records Radio Hour show was officially issued in December 1995 on cassette and reel-to-reel tapes for promotional use in the United States. Six of the ten live tracks from part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) were never made available in commercial form.

Side A:

  1. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD [1995 album version]
  2. SINALOA COWBOYS [Album version]
  3. YOUNGSTOWN [Album version]
  4. STRAIGHT TIME [Album version]

Side B:

  1. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
  2. STRAIGHT TIME [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
  3. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
  4. BORN IN THE U.S.A. [Live 08 Dec 1995 version]
  5. YOUNGSTOWN [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
  6. SINALOA COWBOYS [Live 08 Dec 1995 version]
  7. BALBOA PARK [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
  8. DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? [Live 08 Dec 1995 version]
  9. THIS HARD LAND [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
  10. STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]

Notes:

  • Side A is part 1 of the radio show: the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast. The tracks on this side are interspersed with segments from the interview with Bob Costas. Side B is part 2 of the radio show: the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast.
  • BORN IN THE U.S.A. is actually a mix of the live 09 Dec 1995 version (the spoken intro) and the live 08 Dec 1995 version (the song).
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour Part 1 & 2
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour Part 1 & 2

MC - Columbia (CAT 7698) - USA, 1995

This Promotion-only cassette tape contains both part 1 (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast) and part 2 (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) of the radio show.

Side A: part 1
Side B: part 2
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast).

Side A: part 1
Side B: blank
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast), with commercials.

Side A: part 1
Side B: blank
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast), with commercials.

Side A: part 2
Side B: blank
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

Reel-to-reel - Columbia (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only reel-to-reel tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast), with commercials. This is one of two reel-to-reel tapes that were distributed together but each was housed in a separate box. These are 10.5-inch reels with 1/2" tape, with a running speed of 7.5 ips.
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia

Reel-to-reel - Columbia (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only reel-to-reel tape contains part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast), with commercials. This is one of two reel-to-reel tapes that were distributed together but each was housed in a separate box. These are 10.5-inch reels with 1/2" tape, with a running speed of 7.5 ips.

Part 2 of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.

Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions
Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions

CD - Good Ship Funke (GSF020) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.
Bruce Springsteen -- Upper Darby Theater '95
Bruce Springsteen -- Upper Darby Theater '95

CD - Rox Vox (RVCD2045) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour
Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour

Digital album - Lilith Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2016

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.
Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions
Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions

2xLP - Parachute Recording Company (PARA155LP) - UK, 2018

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.
Bruce Springsteen -- Youngstown
Bruce Springsteen -- Youngstown

LP - Roxborough Music (ROXMB018) - UK, 2018

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Available Versions

List of available versions of YOUNGSTOWN on this website:

YOUNGSTOWN [Album version]
YOUNGSTOWN [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
YOUNGSTOWN [Live 19 Mar 1996 version]
YOUNGSTOWN [Live 30 Sep 1999 version]
YOUNGSTOWN [Live 29 Jun 2000 version]
YOUNGSTOWN [Live 28 Jun 2009 version]

Page last updated: 14 Aug 2010