WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN

Album version

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I been knocking on the door that holds the throne
I been looking for the map that leads me home
I been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone
The road of good intentions has gone dry as a bone
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

From Chicago to New Orleans, from the muscle to the bone
From the shotgun shack to the Superdome
There ain't no help, the cavalry stayed home
There ain't no one hearing the bugle blowin'
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

Where're the eyes, the eyes with the will to see
Where're the hearts that run over with mercy
Where's the love that has not forsaken me
Where's the work that set my hands, my soul free
Where's the spirit that'll reign, reign over me
Where's the promise from sea to the shining sea
Where's the promise from sea to the shining sea
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown

We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

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Info

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 2012 album Wrecking Ball. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN as released in 2012.

The album version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2015 edition) compilation album, the Collection: 1973-2012 compilation album, and the Best Of Bruce Springsteen (digital edition) compilation album.

The song was nominated for two 2012 Grammy Awards, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.

Writing and Recording

At a listening party and press conference that was held on 16 Feb 2012 at Théâtre Marigny in Paris, France, Springsteen said that he wrote WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN around 2009 or 2010. "I [then] put it away in my book".

"From sea to shining sea" is an American idiom meaning from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean (or vice versa).

It has not yet been revealed when the song was recorded, but it's probably in 2011. On this track, Bruce Springsteen, Ron Aniello, Soozie Tyrell (backing vocals), Patti Scialfa (backing vocals), Lisa Lowell (backing vocals), and the New York String Section (strings).

Single Release

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN is the leading single from the Wrecking Ball album. It was released on 19 Jan 2012 as a digital single on Amazon.com and iTunes.

The single was issued on CD-R for promotional purposes in the USA, Europe, and Japan.

The WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN single had moderate success in Spain, Italy, and Japan.

Music Video

A music video of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was first released on 19 Jan 2012 on Bruce Springsteen's YouTube channel to coincide with the single release. It's a basic promo clip containing various new photos of Springsteen and the song's lyrics.

The final, official music video was released on 10 Feb 2012, on both Bruce Springsteen's official website and Bruce Springsteen's YouTube channel. Apparently it was not ready when the single was released the previous month. The video was directed by Thom Zimny and was shot on 13 Jan 2012 in downtown Asbury Park, NJ. Locations include the Savoy Theatre, The Press Room bar, and Frank's Deli & Restaurant. European tourists, who were in town for the Light Of Day concert, were used as extras in the video; they were filmed marching down Mattison Avenue. The video is shot in black and white for the first half and color for the second half. The music video was also included on the Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- compilation album.

Wrecking Ball

Wrecking Ball is Bruce Springsteen's seventeenth studio album. It was produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen and executive producer Jon Landau and features special guest appearances from Tom Morello and Matt Chamberlain. The album features 11 new Springsteen recordings and a special edition includes two bonus tracks. All 13 tracks are Springsteen compositions, three of which have previously been released as live versions.

In 2010-2011, before the album came together, Springsteen was originally working on another project. In a December 2013 interview for Rolling Stone, Ron Aniello told Andy Greene: "Those were about 30 or 40 songs. They were very unique for him, unlike anything I'd ever heard." It was on 09 Jan 2011 that Aniello first went to Colts Neck to help Springsteen finish arrangements for the project he was working on. Those songs would eventually become the core of Western Stars, which wasn't released until 2019.

After they had been working together for about a month, Springsteen wrote EASY MONEY which was a different style of song to what they've been working on before. He had also written JACK OF ALL TRADES, WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN, WRECKING BALL, SHACKLED AND DRAWN, and ROCKY GROUND. The latter two were originally written for a gospel film project he was working on and on which he spent on-and-off about a year. As Aniello told WCHR-FM's Tom Cunningham, "things just started steam rolling into this other record, you know, not sure what was going round in his mind." Springsteen was bringing in more songs, and it was evident that the direction of the music was changing. Jon Landau came in, listened to the music, and after a discussion with Springsteen they decided to do a new album. "Literally, this man bought in a new song every day. He just bulldozed us with these songs," Aniello explained.

Springsteen was coming in every morning with a new song and it would start with just him and his guitar. He would then sing a rhythm to Aniello or sit down at the drums and play a beat. Aniello was looping these drum beats – no drum machines were used on Wrecking Ball – and adding other layers, like loops of percussion, also played by Springsteen. According to Aniello, this was done just for convenience because they were alone in studio, songs were coming in quick, and there were no other musicians there. The loops stayed, and other instruments were added at later stages. "Ron brought a large library of sound that allowed me to explore – like maybe a hip-hop drum loop or country-blues stomp loop," Springsteen told Rolling Stone in 2012. "The actual drums came later. There was no preconceived set of instruments that needed to be used, I could go anywhere, do anything, use anything. It was very wide open." Everybody who was around was participating in the recording. They even jumped on pieces of plywood, built some risers to stomp on, and hit couches to makes noises.

Wrecking Ball was mainly recorded at Stone Hill Studio, Springsteen's home studio at his Colts Neck, NJ farmhouse. The album was released on Columbia Records on 05 Mar 2012 in the UK, 06 Mar 2012 in the United States, and 21 Mar 2012 in Japan.

Wrecking Ball was recorded with a large ensemble of musicians. There's a core of six musicians and the others were just guest artists. Some E Street Band members appear on a few of the tracks. According to Ron Aniello, the album credits are "a mess" and will be revised in future reissues.

• Bruce Springsteen (lead vocals, guitars, banjo, piano, organ, drums, percussion, and loops) appears on all of the album's tracks.
• Ron Aniello (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, loops, percussion, hurdy gurdy, and backing vocals) appears on all of the album's tracks. He is also the album producer.
• Matt Chamberlain (drums and percussion) is an American musician, drummer, producer, songwriter, and session player. He appears on track 3, track 5, and track 8.
• Max Weinberg (drums) is a member of The E Street Band and appears on track 7, track 11, and track 13.
• Steve Jordan (percussion) has previously appeared on Springsteen's Devils & Dust, playing drums and percussion. He appears on track 2.
• Kevin Buell (drums and backing vocals) is Springsteen's guitar technician. He appears on track 5.
• Charles Giordano (accordion, piano, B-3 organ, and celeste) recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band and became an unofficial member of The E Street Band in 2008. He appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Marc Muller (pedal steel guitar) is a multi-instrumentalist who mainly plays string instruments. He plays pedal steel guitar on track 3.
• Tom Morello (electric guitar) appears on track 4 and track 6.
• Greg Leisz (banjo, mandola, and lap steel) is a multi-instrumentalist, mainly playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass. He appears on track 8 and track 11.
• Rob Lebert (electric guitar and backing vocals) appears on track 5, track 7, track 8, track 12, and track 13.
• Darrell Leonard (trumpet and bass trumpet) is a Los Angeles based trumpet player, composer and arranger. He appears on track 11.
• Curt Ramm (trumpet and cornet) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 7, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Clark Gayton (trombone) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Stan Harrison (clarinet, alto sax, and tenor sax) has previously appeared on Springsteen's The Promise, playing tenor saxophone. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Ed Manion (tenor sax and baritone sax) is a member of The Miami Horns and he toured with The E Street Band in 1988 and recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 8, track 9, and track 10.
• Dan Levine (alto horn and euphonium) is a New York City based musician who plays several horn instruments. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 9, and track 10.
• Art Baron (euphonium, tuba, sousaphone, and penny whistle) recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. He appears on track 3, track 4, track 5, track 9, and track 10.
• Clarence Clemons (saxophone) was a member of The E Street Band and appears on track 7 and track 10.
• Soozie Tyrell (violin and backing vocals) started touring with The E Street Band in 2002 and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band in 2006. She appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Patti Scialfa (backing vocals and vocal arrangements) is Springsteen's wife and a member of The E Street Band since 1984. She appears on most of the album's tracks.
• Lisa Lowell (backing vocals) has been singing backup vocals on several Springsteen albums since 1992 and recorded and toured with The Seeger Sessions Band. She appears on track 1, track 2, track 3, track 6, track 7, track 10, and track 12.
• Cindy Mizelle (background vocals) toured with The Seeger Sessions Band and The E Street Band in 2009. She appears on track 3.
• Ross Peterson (backing vocals) appears on track 3, track 5, track 7, track 8, track 12, and track 13.
• Cliff Norrell (tuba and backing vocals) is the album's recording engineer. He appears on track 3, track 5, track 7, track 8, track 12, and track 13.
• New York String Section (strings), also known as the New York Chamber Consort, consists of Rob Mathes (orchestration), Sandy Park (string contractor), Lisa Kim (concertmaster), Myumju Lee (violin), Ann Lehmaan (violin), Lizz Lim (violin), Johanna Marher (violin), Annaliesa Place (violin), Fiona Simon (violin), Sharon Yamada (violin), Jung Sun Yu (violin), Karen Dreyfus (viola), Daniel Panner (viola), Robert Rinehart (viola), Mina Smith (cello), and Alan Stepansky (cello). It appears on track 1, track 4, and track 7.
• Victorious Gospel Choir (backing vocals) has previously appeared on Springsteen's The Rising. On Wrecking Ball, the choir includes Michelle Moore, Antoinette Savage, Corinda Carford, Tiffeny Andrews, Soloman Cobbs, and Lillie Brown. It appears on track 2, track 9, and track 10. Michelle Moore is credited separately on the three tracks. The remaining singers are credited individually on track 2, and as the Victorious Gospel Choir on track 9 and track 10.
• Jeremy McCoy (bass violin) is an orchestral double bass player. He appears on track 12.
• Dan Shelly (bassoon) is an orchestral bassoon player. He appears on track 12.
• Mark Romatz (contrabassoon) is an orchestral bassoon player. He appears on track 12.
• Steven Van Zandt (mandolin and backing vocals) is a member of The E Street Band. He appears on track 7, track 10, and track 13.

Wrecking Ball is available in three configurations: standard CD edition, special CD edition, and double-disc LP. The special CD edition features two bonus tracks and exclusive packaging. The double-disc LP is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and includes the standard CD edition of the album.

The album topped the charts in 16 countries, including the United States and the UK.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen

The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released as part of Sony BMG'S (previously Sony Music Entertainment) series of "Essential" sets. According to Springsteen's liner notes comments, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour.

The collection is fundamentally a 2-disc set (clocking at 153:37) compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Live In New York City release. A 3-disc limited edition (clocking at 201:04) was also released. It includes a bonus third disc comprising of a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen was released on 11 Nov 2003 on Columbia Records. It debuted and peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart where it spent 13 weeks. It also reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records by the RIAA on 16 Dec 2003.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen was reissued on 16 Oct 2015, this time as a 2-disc set (clocking at 156:25) with an updated track list, compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Greatest Hits (1995 edition) collection. This 2015 reissue features remastered tracks not found in that form on other Springsteen releases.

Collection: 1973-2012

Collection: 1973-2012 is a Bruce Springsteen compilation album released on Columbia Records in 2013. It was released on 08 Mar 2013 in Australia and 15 Apr 2013 in Europe. The compilation was not released commercially in the United States. Instead, a promotional version was given out exclusively to $1,500 ticket holders at the "MusiCares Person Of The Year" tribute event held in Los Angeles, CA, on 08 Feb 2013. The event honoured Springsteen for both his artistic achievements and philanthropic efforts. The compilation consists of 18 previously released studio tracks.

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- is a Bruce Springsteen compilation album released by Sony Music Japan in 2023. The compilation, which was exclusively released in Japan, consists of previously released 35 audio tracks and 62 video tracks. The collection is part of a 26-title reissue campaign to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's debut album. The series, issued in three waves (25 Oct 2023, 22 Nov 2023, and 20 Dec 2023), includes 25 albums originally released between 1973 and 2014 plus a new compilation album that includes all of Springsteen's singles released in Japan from 1975 to 1999. All audio CD's were manufactured using Sony Japan's Blu-spec CD2 format.

Best Of Bruce Springsteen

Best Of Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released on Columbia Records on 19 Apr 2024. The album is collection of original songs spanning Springsteen's entire career, from 1973 to 2020. The release was officially announced on 01 Mar 2024.

Two variants of the album were released: the 18-track physical releases and an expanded 31-track download-only version. The physical releases include a single-disc CD and as a two-disc LP set. Four editions of the vinyl release were issued: a regular edition on black vinyl, an Atlantic Blue vinyl exclusive to Europe, a Highway Yellow vinyl exclusive to independent retailers, and a Jersey Devil Red vinyl exclusive to Amazon Music.

Other Official Releases

The album version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN appears on some various artists compilation albums.

Other versions of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN were also officially released.

Live History: on-tour

In preparation for the Wrecking Ball Tour, WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN is known to have been practiced during at least two of the private rehearsals that took place between January and March 2012 in Fort Monmouth, Trenton, and Asbury Park prior to the tour's first U.S. leg and during the private rehearsal that took place on 12 May 2012 in Seville, Spain prior to the tour's European leg.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed 114 times during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013), including each and every show of the 2012 part of the tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement. The live 28 Jul 2012 version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was released on the Gothenburg July 28, 2012 official live download in 2020. The live 31 Jul 2012 version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was released on the Olympiastadion, Helsinki July 31, 2012 official live download in 2017. The live 22 Sep 2012 version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was released on the East Rutherford, NJ 09.22.12 official live download in 2019. The live 12 Nov 2012 version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was released on the St. Paul, MN Nov 12, 2012 official live download in 2020.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed 3 times during the High Hopes Tour (34 dates, January to May 2014). The song was played in a full-band arranegement. Audio recordings for most High Hopes Tour shows are officially available for purchase. See the live 29 Jan 2014 version for more details.

Live History: off-tour

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR WON was performed off-tour on 12 Feb 2012 Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, during the 54th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony. The song was played with the E Street Band who was joined by a string section. The song was also practiced two days earlier during a private rehearsal session at Staples Center. See the live 12 Feb 2012 version for more details.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed off-tour on 27 Feb 2012 at Rockefeller Center in New York City, NY, during a TV appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The song was played with the E Street Band. See the live 27 Feb 2012 version for more details.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed off-tour on 09 Mar 2012 at Apollo Theater in New York City, NY, during the Sirius Satellite Radio 10-year anniversary celebration. The song was played with the E Street Band. The live 09 Mar 2012 version of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was released on the Apollo Theater 03/09/12 official live download in 2014.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed off-tour on 15 Mar 2012 at Moody Theater in Austin, TX, during the South By Southwest music festival. The song was played with the E Street Band. See the live 15 Mar 2012 version for more details.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed off-tour on 08 Feb 2013 at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA, during the 2013 MusiCares Person Of The Year ceremony.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed on four of the seven Barack Obama 2012 election rallies on which Springsteen appeared. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar.

Bruce Springsteen has been performing on almost all the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefits since 2007. WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN was performed during the sixth (2012) annual benefit.

Covers

At least 6 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN.

Credits / References

Thanks Jared Mostowsky and Adrià for the lyrics help.

Some info about the above official Springsteen releases is taken from the Lost In The Flood website. Some of the information about the above WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN cover releases are taken from the Nebraska website.

Request

If you have any corrections or additional info, please contact me via the below form or by email: .

Available Versions

List of available versions of WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN on this website:

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN [Album version]
WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN [Live 12 Feb 2012 version]
WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN [Live 27 Feb 2012 version]
WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN [Live 09 Mar 2012 version]
WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN [Live 15 Mar 2012 version]
WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN [Live 29 Jan 2014 version]

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Page last updated: 14 Nov 2015