LIFT ME UP^©

Studio version

I don't need your answered prayers
Or the chains your lover wears
I don't need your rings of gold
Or the secrets that you hold

Lift me up, darling
Lift me up and I'll fall with you lift me up
Let your love lift me up

I don't need your sacred vow
Or the promise tomorrow brings
Veiled behind the morning clouds*
I'll take the fate the daylight brings**

Lift me up, darling
Lift me up and I'll fall with you lift me up
Let your love lift me up

When the morning bright
Lifts away this night
In the light above***
We will find our love, we will find our love

Your skin, your hand upon my neck
This skin, your fingers on my skin
This kiss, this heartbeat, this breath
This heart, this heart, this wilderness

Lift me up, darling
Lift me up and I'll fall with you lift me up
Let your love lift me up
Lift me up, darling
Lift me up and I'll fall with you lift me up
Let your love lift me up

hooooo...
hooooo...
hooooo...

hooooo...
hooooo...
hooooo...

hooooo...
hooooo...
hooooo...

hooooo...
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hooooo...

Page last updated: 26 Apr 2008

Intro

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, LIFT ME UP was first released on the soundtrack of the John Sayles' 1999 film Limbo.

Writing Date

According to Limbo director John Sayles, the movie producer Maggie Renzi ran into Bruce Springsteen at an airport and he asked if there's anything he could to to help. Sayles and Renzi thought of Springsteen for the final song of the movie, and they wanted "something that was healing but also something that was about risk", as Sayles described it.

Sayles says that the lyrics of LIFT ME UP were something that Springsteen "had been working on three years but had never really finished". These means that he started working on it during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour, of maybe during the time he was writing or recording The Ghost Of Tom Joad album.

Recording

Bruce Springsteen recorded LIFT ME UP sometime between Oct 1998 and Jan 1999, at Thrill Hill East, Bruce's home studio in Colt's Neck, NJ. Springsteen, who is the sole producer of the track, handles vocals (in a falsetto voice) and all instruments. The track was recorded and mixed by Toby Scott.

The Motion Picture Limbo

Limbo is a 1999 drama film directed by John Sayles and produced Maggie Renzi. The drama features Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez and Kris Kristofferson. It was released on June 1999. John Sales was nominated for a Golden Palm Award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot summary from The Internet Movie Database:

Limbo tells the story of people trying to reinvent themselves in the Southeastern islands of Alaska. The story revolves around Joe Gastineau, a fisherman traumatized by an accident at sea years before, singer Donna de Angelo and her disaffected daughter Noelle who come into Joe's life. When Joe's fast-talking half-brother Bobby returns to town and asks Joe for a favor, the lives of the characters are changed forever.

Springsteen and John Sayles

Springsteen's relation with Sayles dates back to 1983, when ADAM RAISED A CAIN, IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY, SHE'S THE ONE, and THE E STREET SHUFFLE were used in the soundtrack of his movie Baby It's You. Sayles also directed Bruce's videos for BORN IN THE USA in 1984 and I'M ON FIRE and GLORY DAYS in 1985.

Official Releases

LIFT ME UP was first released on the soundtrack of the motion picture Limbo in June 1999, and later included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen bonus disc in November 2003. The song also plays during the end credits of Springsteen's 2001 DVD release, The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000.

Liner notes by Bruce Springsteen in the The Essential Bruce Springsteen booklet:

Director John Sayles called and said he was looking for a song to end his film "Limbo." The picture ends with a small plane approaching an island his main characters were stranded on. I tried to pick up the hum of the plane's engine and write something ethereal using the falsetto voice I'd developed in the '90s.

Liner notes by John Sayles from the Limbo soundtrack booklet:

Bruce Springsteen has written a haunting new song for the final credits. In the prayer-like LIFT ME UP, the singer is asking for nothing more and promising nothing less than to take the risk of unconditional love.

Live Performances

The song was performed live only once, during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, on 31 Jul 2005 at Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH. It was the opener of the show. Check out the live 31 Jul 2005 version for more details.

Lyrics

The above lyrics are for the studio recording of LIFT ME UP. In the Limbo soundtrack album booklet, some lyrics lines were different from the ones on The Essential Bruce Springsteen booklet:
* was changed to: "There behind the morning clouds"
** was changed to: "I'll take the faith the daylight brings"
*** was changed to: "And the light above"
The Essential Bruce Springsteen booklet seems to have the correct lyrics.

Available Versions

List of available versions of LIFT ME UP on this website:

• Studio version (more details)
• Live 31 Jul 2005 version