YOUNGSTOWN^©

Album's version

Here in northeast Ohio, back in eighteen-o-three
James and Danny Heaton found the ore that was linin' 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 sinkin' down
Here darlin' in Youngstown

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

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
Sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down
Here darlin' in Youngstown

Well my daddy come on the Ohio works when he come home from World War Two
Now the yard's just scrap and rubble, he said "Them big boys did what Hitler couldn't do."
Yeah 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 dyin' for

Here in Youngstown, here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down
Here darlin' 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, now sir you tell me the world's changed
Once I made you rich enough, rich enough to forget my name

And Youngstown, and Youngstown
My sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down
Here darlin' in Youngstown

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

Page last updated: 13 Apr 2009

Intro

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, YOUNGSTOWN was released in Nov 1995 on Springsteen's solo album The Ghost Of Tom Joad. The song is a bleak parable about the decay of industrialized America. It was played live acoustic on solo tours, and full-band on E Street Band tours.

The Story behind the Song

In 1985, author Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael Williamson published a book titled Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass. The book chronicles the new class of unemployed and dispossessed workers that had arisen in the early 80's in the US. Springsteen was one of 15,000 people who bought a copy when the book was first published. And then, he says, "I sort of put it away on the shelf."

Ten years later, on a sleepless night in his Beverly Hills home, Springsteen reached to the bookshelf and pulled Journey To Nowhere; this ultimately provided the catalyst for the completion of his new album, The Ghost Of Tom Joad. "I was downstairs one night and I pulled [Journey To Nowhere] out and started to read it," he told the Washington Post. "And I read the whole book straight through. It's very powerful and basically it was a source for me for 'Youngstown' and 'The New Timer'." He told Bob Costas in an interview that he was very frightened when he closed the book. "You never know what tomorrow brings. It strikes you straight some sort of real." He added, "What if you couldn't take care of your family? What if you had to leave them? What if you couldn't be home with your sons and your daughters? What if you couldn't pay for their health care, and couldn't provide them with the health care that they need?"

By the time Springsteen recorded The Ghost Of Tom Joad, the book had gone out of print. In an effort "to replay something that meant something to me," he talked about the book in concerts during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. When the publisher Hyperion Books decided to reprint it in March 1996, Springsteen wrote a new introduction for the book. In it, he mentions that he "had completed most of the Tom Joad record when one night, unable to sleep, I pulled this book down off my shelf. I read it in one sitting and I lay awake frightened by its implications. In the next week I wrote 'Youngstown' and 'The New Timer'."

YOUNGSTOWN is a tribute to the family line of steel workers in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. It ponders the corporate bosses who built a steel plant in Youngstown, used up the local resources, and then walked away. The narrator's father says: "Them big boys did what Hitler couldn't do". That particular scenario is directly taken from Journey To Nowhere, in which laid off Youngstown steelworkers Joe Marshall Sr. and Jr. are poking through the rubble of the Campbell Works, whose six 10-story blast furnaces have been dynamited: "How could they shut us down?" The older man pauses. "What Hitler couldn't do, they did it for him."

People and Locations

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Endowed with large deposits of coal and iron as well as "old growth" hardwood forests needed to produce charcoal, the Youngstown area eventually developed a thriving steel industry. The area's first blast furnace, the Hopewell Furnace, was established in 1803 by James and Daniel Heaton; it was built on the banks of Yellow Creek in what is now Struthers. It was the first blast furnace in Ohio and likely the first one west of the Allegheny Mountains. The song's lyrics were sometimes misheard as James and Dan "Eaton" rather than "Heaton", but Dan did change his name to "Eaton" later in life.

The Monongahela Valley is located in north-central west Virginia and south western Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the path of the Monongahela River. The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. Appalachia is a region in the eastern United States that stretches from southern New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. The region is rich in coal deposits.

The Jeanette Blast Furnace (nicknamed Sweet Jenny in the song) once stood along the Mahoning River at the Brier Hill Plant of the Youngstown Sheet And Tube Company (YS&T). Built in 1917-1918 and lighted on 20 Sep 1918 by its namesake, Mary Jeanette Thomas, daughter of W.A. Thomas who was the President of Brier Hill Steel. The Jeanette furnace went out of blast in September 1977 when the Brier Hill Plant was shut down. It was one of the oldest blast furnaces in the United States, and the last of its kind in Youngstown. It was demolished on 29 Jan 1997.

The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Following the Jan-Feb 1995 studio reunion with the E Street Band and the release of Greatest Hits, Bruce Springsteen writing activity increased significantly. Between March and September 1995, Springsteen wrote and recorded about two-albums worth of new songs. From the scattered comments made by Springsteen and other session participants, it would seem that over an album's worth of solo material and over an album's worth of band material were recorded during these sessions. The Ghost Of Tom Joad album consist of 7 solo tracks and 5 band tracks. The songs Bruce recorded solo may have spanned the entire session period and the band sessions appear to have been split into 2 or 3 phases during the spring and summer of 1995.

The Ghost Of Tom Joad was released on Columbia Records on 21 Nov 1995. It was produced by Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin.

The album features 12 new Springsteen compositions and clocks at 50:16.

Track list:

1. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD
2. STRAIGHT TIME
3. HIGHWAY 29
4. YOUNGSTOWN
5. SINALOA COWBOYS
6. THE LINE
7. BALBOA PARK
8. DRY LIGHTNING
9. THE NEW TIMER
10. ACROSS THE BORDER
11. GALVESTON BAY
12. MY BEST WAS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH

The album was also released as a vinyl record.

Recording of YOUNGSTOWN

YOUNGSTOWN was recorded between April and June 1995 at Thrill Hill West, Bruce's home studio in Los Angeles, CA. On this track, Springsteen handles guitar and vocals and is backed up by five musicians.

Other official releases

Besides it's release on The Ghost Of Tom Joad album, YOUNGSTOWN was included on two promotional CD singles:

• "YOUNGSTOWN"
  A very rare 1996 promotional CD5 pressed in Austria for exclusive distribution in France. Comes in a unique cardboard picture sleeve. Catalogue # COL SAMPCD 3307.
  
  
   
• "YOUNGSTOWN - THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD"
  A 1996 Australia-only promotional CD5 that was not released commercially. Issued in a plain black die-cut cardboard sleeve. Catalogues # COL SAMP 720.
  
  

Both the album's version and the live 09 Dec 1995 performance of YOUNGSTOWN were included on Bruce Springsteen - Columbia Records Radio Hour, a US-only promotional release issued on cassette and reel-to-reel tape. Check out the live 09 Dec 1995 version for more details.

The live 29 Jun 2000 performance of YOUNGSTOWN was officially released in 2001 on Live In New York City, both the album and the DVD. Check out the live 29 Jun 2000 version for more details.

Live History

Bruce Springsteen played a public warm-up show for The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour on 21 Nov 1995 at the State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ. That was the first live performance of YOUNGSTOWN. The tour kicked-off the next night, and the song was performed a total of 75 times on that 128-shows long tour. YOUNGSTOWN was first performed at every single show during the tour's first five months, and then it started to be omitted on the setlist until it became more and more of a rarity as the tour progressed. In 1997 (the last 27 shows of the tour), YOUNGSTOWN appeared only 4 times.

• The live 09 Dec 1995 performance of YOUNGSTOWN at Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA, was among the 10 live tracks that were used on the 14 Dec 1995 edition of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show. Check out the live 09 Dec 1995 version for more details.
   
• On 12 Jan 1996, Springsteen played to a sold-out audience at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, OH. Evidently, YOUNGSTOWN was among the songs performed that night.
   
• 10 tracks (including YOUNGSTOWN) from the 19 Apr 1996 show at the International Congress Centrum, Berlin, Germany, were radio broadcast in various countries.
   
• On 14 Dec 1995, Springsteen made an off-tour appearance on The David Letterman Show. He performed YOUNGTOWN on the show which was live broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band embarked on The Reunion Tour in April 1999. A full-band rock arrangement of YOUNGSTOWN was played during both of the tour's public warm-up rehearsal shows (18 and 19 Mar 1999 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ) and on each of the tour's 132 regular dates. This new raging rocking arrangement of the song soon became one of the highlights of the tour. The 29 Jun 2000 performance of YOUNGSTOWN was officially released in 2001 on Live In New York City, both the album and the DVD. Check out the live 29 Jun 2000 version for more details.

During The Rising Tour, YOUNGSTOWN was performed only once, on 04 Dec 2002 at Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA. This was an acoustic rendition on which Bruce played acoustic guitar accompanied by Soozie Tyrell on violin.

• 04 Dec 2002 at Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

For the upcoming Vote For Change Tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band spent three days in closed rehearsals: 27 to 29 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ. YOUNGSTOWN was reported to have been practiced on the first two days. The song was performed on four of the 7 tour dates, most appropriately in Pennsylvania and Ohio:

• 01 Oct 2004 at Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
• 02 Oct 2004 at Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH
• 03 Oct 2004 at Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI
• 08 Oct 2004 at TD Waterhouse, Orlando, FL

YOUNGSTOWN was reported to have been practiced during the private rehearsals for the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, on 09 and 10 Mar and 20 Apr 2005 at Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ. Springsteen played two public rehearsals for the tour, on 21 and 22 Apr 2005 at Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ. YOUNGSTOWN was played on both nights. On-tour, the song made 11 appearances, most of which in the first couple of weeks of the tour.

• 21 Apr 2005 at Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ
• 22 Apr 2005 at Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ
   
• 25 Apr 2005 at Fox Theater, Detroit, MI
• 28 Apr 2005 at Nokia Theater, Dallas, TX
• 30 Apr 2005 at Glendale Arena, Phoenix, AR
• 02 May 2005 at Pantages Theater, Los Angeles, CA
• 03 May 2005 at Pantages Theater, Los Angeles, CA
• 05 May 2005 at Oakland Theater, Oakland, CA
• 07 May 2005 at Convention Theater, Denver, CO
• 10 May 2005 at Xcel energy Center, St Paul, MN
• 15 May 2005 at CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, OH
• 17 May 2005 at Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA
• 28 Jul 2005 at Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA

On The Seeger Sessions Tour, YOUNGSTOWN was performed only once, on 14 Nov 2006 at Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, UK.

• 14 Nov 2006 at Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, UK

YOUNGSTOWN was played 9 times during the Magic Tour, most of them toward the end of the tour. It was also played after the tour at Harley-Davidson's 105th Anniversary Celebration.

• 14 Nov 2007 at Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
• 11 Jul 2008 at Olympia Stadion, Helsinki, Finland
• 20 Jul 2008 at Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
• 27 Jul 2008 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
• 02 Aug 2008 at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
• 15 Aug 2008 at Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL
• 18 Aug 2008 at Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, VA
• 21 Aug 2008 at Sommet Center, Nashville, TN
• 24 Aug 2008 at Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
   
• 30 Aug 2008 at Roadhouse At The Lakefront, Milwaukee, WI

Springsteen performed on four election rallies for Senator Barack Obama, and YOUNGSTOWN was played on two of these four rallies.

• 05 Oct 2008 at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
• 02 Nov 2008 on Malls A, B and C, Cleveland, OH

By the time this page was last updated, YOUNGSTOWN had been played three times during the Working On A Dream Tour.

• 05 Apr 2009 at Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
• 07 Apr 2009 at BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
• 10 Apr 2009 at Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

Covers

A few artists covered YOUNGSTOWN:

Dean Sapp & The Hartford Express -- The Night The Titanic Went Down CD - Old Train Music (OTM 1002) - USA, 1997

Kevin (Bachus) -- Childhood Dreams CD - no label (no catalogue number) - Holland, 2005 This album includes 6 Springsteen cover songs

Steve Strauss -- Just Like Love CD - Stockfisch Records (SFR 357.4036.2) - Germany, 2005

Various artists -- Song Of America 3-CD - Split Rock / 31 Tigers (unknown catalogue number) - USA, 2007 YOUNGSTOWN is performed by Matthew Ryan This album also includes STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA performed by Bettye LaVette

Blue Moon Rising -- One Lonely Shadow CD - Lonesome Day Records (unknown catalogue number) - USA, 2008

Available Versions

List of available versions of YOUNGSTOWN on this website:

• Album's version (more details)
• Live 09 Dec 1995 version
• Live 29 Jun 2000 version

Credits / References

Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances are taken from Brucebase. Scans and info for the above releases are taken from the Lost In The Flood website. Info for some of the above YOUNGSTOWN cover releases are taken from the Nebraska website.

Request

I am looking for a higher resolution cover of the book Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass and the cover of the album Childhood Dreams mentioned above. Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are always welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.