We Are Alive

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Track 11 of Wrecking Ball, 2012.

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Credits

• Wrecking Ball (2012)
  • Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, percussion, loops
  • Ron Aniello: guitar, bass, keyboards, loops, backing vocals
  • Charles Giordano: piano, Hammond B3 organ
  • Greg Leisz: banjo, mandola, lap steel
  • Darrell Leonard: trumpet, bass trumpet
  • Patti Scialfa: backing vocals
  • Soozie Tyrell: violin
  • Max Weinberg: drums

Performances

Performed live 67 times (not including snippet performances). 2014-05-01 MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL 2014-02-16 AAMI Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 2014-01-26 Bellville Velodrome, Cape Town, South Africa 2013-09-18 Espaço Das Américas, São Paulo, Brazil 2013-09-14 Estadio G.E.B.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina 2013-09-12 Movistar Arena, Santiago, Chile 2013-06-29 Stade De France, Saint-Denis, France 2013-06-20 Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England 2013-06-03 Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy 2013-03-26 Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 2013-03-14 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 2012-10-19 Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, ON 2012-09-19 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ 2012-09-14 Nationals Park, Washington, DC 2012-09-07 Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL 2012-09-03 Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA 2012-09-02 Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA 2012-08-24 Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON 2012-08-14 Fenway Park, Boston, MA 2012-07-31 Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland 2012-07-27 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden 2012-07-24 Koengen, Bergen, Norway 2012-07-21 Valle Hovin Stadion, Oslo, Norway 2012-07-17 RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland 2012-07-14 Hyde Park, London, England (Evening) 2012-07-12 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria 2012-07-09 Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland 2012-07-07 Festivalpladsen, Roskilde, Denmark 2012-07-05 Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, Paris, France 2012-07-04 Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, Paris, France 2012-06-24 Seaclose Park, Isle Of Wight, England 2012-06-22 Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England 2012-06-21 Stadium Of Light, Sunderland, England 2012-06-17 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain 2012-06-11 Stadio Nereo Rocco, Trieste, Italy 2012-06-07 Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy 2012-06-03 Bela Vista Park, Lisbon, Portugal 2012-05-30 Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany 2012-05-28 Megaland, Landgraaf, The Netherlands 2012-05-27 Rheinenergiestadion, Cologne, Germany 2012-05-25 Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany 2012-05-18 Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain 2012-05-17 Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain 2012-05-15 Estadio De Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain 2012-05-13 Estadio Olimpico De La Cartuja, Seville, Spain 2012-05-02 Prudential Center, Newark, NJ 2012-04-29 New Orleans Fair Grounds, New Orleans, LA 2012-04-27 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 2012-04-26 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 2012-04-24 HP Pavilion At San Jose, San Jose, CA 2012-04-17 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH 2012-04-16 Times Union Center, Albany, NY 2012-04-13 First Niagara Center, Buffalo, NY 2012-04-12 Palace Of Auburn Hills (The), Auburn Hills, MI 2012-04-09 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 2012-04-06 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 2012-04-04 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ 2012-04-03 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ 2012-04-01 Verizon Center, Washington, DC 2012-03-29 Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA 2012-03-28 Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA 2012-03-26 TD Garden, Boston, MA 2012-03-23 Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, FL 2012-03-19 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC 2012-03-18 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA 2012-03-15 Moody Theater, Austin, TX 2012-03-09 Apollo Theater, New York City, NY

Performances broken down by tour (not including rehearsals and snippet performances) Performed at 0 show(s) of 130 on the 2023-25 International Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 266 on the Springsteen On Broadway run. Performed at 0 show(s) of 14 on the Summer '17 Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 75 on the The River Tour 2016. Performed at 3 show(s) of 33 on the High Hopes Tour. Performed at 62 show(s) of 133 on the Wrecking Ball Tour. Performed at 2 known other show(s), plus 0 public tour rehearsal(s).

Released on Album

Released on Wrecking Ball (2012).

Released as Live Download

Live versions are available on the following 6 official live downloads:

• 2014-05-01 MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL
• 2014-01-26 Bellville Velodrome, Cape Town, South Africa
• 2012-07-31 Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland
• 2012-07-05 Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
• 2012-07-04 Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
• 2012-03-09 Apollo Theater, New York City, NY

On The Tracks

WE ARE ALIVE - V1		uncirculating
WE ARE ALIVE - V2	5:36	WRECKING

Note: The officially released V2 features Springsteen, Aniello (some combination of guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion, and/or loops), Max Weinberg (drums), Charlie Giordano (piano, B3 organ), Greg Leisz (banjo, mandola, lap steel), Darrell Leonard (trumpet, bass trumpet), Soozie Tyrell (violin), and Patti Scialfa (backing vocal). V1 is the first version of the track recorded, with a faster, Ramones-style arrangement. Max Weinberg mentioned this take during an interview with Dave Marsh prior to the Apollo show in March 2012.

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^{Studio Sessions: Wrecking Ball}

Lyrics

We Are Alive

There's a cross up yonder up on Calvary Hill
There's a slip of blood on a silver knife
There's a graveyard kid down below
Where at night the dead come to life
Well, above the stars they crackle in fire
A dead man's moon throws seven rings
Well, we'd put our ears to the cold grave stones
This is the song they'd sing
We are alive
And though our bodies lie alone here in the dark
Our spirits rise to carry the fire and light the spark
To stand shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart

A voice cried I was killed in Maryland in 1877
When the railroad workers made their stand
Well, I was killed in 1963 one Sunday morning in Birmingham
Well, I died last year crossing the southern desert
My children left behind in San Pablo
Well, they've left our bodies here to rot
Oh, please let them know
We are alive
Oh, and though we lie alone here in the dark
Our souls will rise to carry the fire and light the spark
To fight shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart

Let your mind rest easy, sleep well my friend
It's only our bodies that betray us in the end

I awoke last night in the dark and dreamy deep
From my head to my feet, my body'd gone stone cold
There were worms crawling all around me
My fingers scratching at an earth black and six foot low
And alone in the blackness of my grave
Alone I'd been left to die
Then I heard voices calling all around me
The earth rose above me, my eyes filled with sky
We are alive
And though our bodies lie alone here in the dark
Our souls and spirits rise
To carry the fire and light the spark
To fight shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart
To stand shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart
We are alive

Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.

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