Devils & Dust (song)
Encyclopedia
"Devils & Dust" is the title track on Bruce Springsteen
's thirteenth studio album Devils & Dust
, and was released as a single in 2005
. Concerning the Iraq War, the song gained critical praise, a Grammy Award for Song of the Year
nomination.
. The soldier questions his role and struggles to find guidance in his mission, all the while wary of the changes he is undergoing:
Unsure of whom to trust in a time of tremendous moral ambiguity, the narrator's reliance upon God is tested when he sees his comrade and fellow soldier, Bobbie, dying in "a field of blood and stone." As the song concludes, the soldier maintains that he "wants to take a righteous stand" and will continue to search for a morally correct solution. It is thus not an anti-war song in a conventional sense. The line "I got God on my side" is presumably a reference to Bob Dylan
's classic anti-war song "With God on Our Side
".
Springsteen originally wrote the song for the E Street Band
and it was soundchecked during The Rising Tour
on April 11, 2003 at Pacific Coliseum
in Vancouver, Canada. The song was again rehearsed on September 27 and 28 2004 before Vote For Change
shows.
As recorded for the Devils & Dust album, the song has a dynamic arrangement, belying the common image of the album being "acoustic" or "folk". "Devils & Dust" starts off quietly with Springsteen on acoustic guitar
. Beginning in the second verse, a muted, ominous synthesizer
-and-horns sound begins to be heard, joined in halfway through the verse by a more pronounced, cyclical strings
line courtesy of the Nashville String Machine
. After the second chorus, Springsteen plays a substantial harmonica
solo, high in the mix, as drums
and bass
from Steve Jordan
and producer
Brendan O'Brien
kick in. The third verse goes quiet again, before drums and percussion return; a reprise of the harmonica line carries the outro.
The single was released ahead of the album, initially appearing on AOL
First Listen on March 28, 2005, then as a digital single on iTunes
on March 29, then on radio as of April 4 and finally from other digital music providers as of April 5.
"Devils & Dust" saw scant radio airplay and peaked at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100
, but the song received much more positive critical acclaim. The song was nominated for three Grammy Award
s: Song of the Year
, Best Rock Song
, and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
; Springsteen won only the last, losing both of the others to U2
songs.
of "Devils & Dust" was filmed at an empty Paramount Theatre
in Asbury Park, New Jersey
. It featured Springsteen on stage lip-synching the song on just acoustic guitar and harmonica. Appearance of the other instruments on the audio was unexplained, and no attempt was made to illustrate the setting or themes of the song, other than a held camera shot from behind the stage at the end as Springsteen put down his instruments and walked off, empty seats all to be seen.
, which began in April 2005, a solo "Devils & Dust" it was to be. Opinions differed on whether the song benefited from the focused intensity of this treatment or suffered from its shifting themes no longer being illustrated by the arrangement. After the tour's completion, Springsteen returned to give another solo performance of the song in February 2006 at the Grammy Awards of 2006
show in Los Angeles
; the performance was preceded by a glowing introduction from actor Tom Hanks
and immediately followed by a brief editorial exclamation from Springsteen, "Bring 'em home!" making reference to his desire for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq
.
During the 2006 Sessions Band Tour
, Springsteen played "Devils & Dust" intermittently, this time with something resembling the recording's arrangement but cast in the Sessions Band's "big folk" sound. Audience reaction was generally very strong.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's thirteenth studio album Devils & Dust
Devils & Dust
Devils & Dust is the 13th studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, and his third folk album . It was released on April 25, 2005 in Europe and on April 26 in the US...
, and was released as a single in 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
. Concerning the Iraq War, the song gained critical praise, a Grammy Award for Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
nomination.
History
The song tells the story of a troubled American soldier who is presumably serving in the 2003 invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. The soldier questions his role and struggles to find guidance in his mission, all the while wary of the changes he is undergoing:
- I got God on my side,
- I'm just trying to survive -
- What if, what you do to survive
- Kills the things you love.
- Fear's a powerful thing ...
Unsure of whom to trust in a time of tremendous moral ambiguity, the narrator's reliance upon God is tested when he sees his comrade and fellow soldier, Bobbie, dying in "a field of blood and stone." As the song concludes, the soldier maintains that he "wants to take a righteous stand" and will continue to search for a morally correct solution. It is thus not an anti-war song in a conventional sense. The line "I got God on my side" is presumably a reference to Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's classic anti-war song "With God on Our Side
With God on Our Side
"With God on Our Side" is a song by Bob Dylan, released as the third track on his 1964 album The Times They Are A-Changin. Dylan first performed the song during his debut at The Town Hall in New York City on April 12, 1963...
".
Springsteen originally wrote the song for the E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
and it was soundchecked during The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour
The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003...
on April 11, 2003 at Pacific Coliseum
Pacific Coliseum
Pacific Coliseum is an indoor arena, at Hastings Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia.Completed in 1968, at the former site of the Pacific National Exhibition, the arena currently holds 16,281, for ice hockey, though capacity at its opening was 15,713....
in Vancouver, Canada. The song was again rehearsed on September 27 and 28 2004 before Vote For Change
Vote for Change
The Vote for Change tour was a politically-motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed to encourage people to register and vote...
shows.
As recorded for the Devils & Dust album, the song has a dynamic arrangement, belying the common image of the album being "acoustic" or "folk". "Devils & Dust" starts off quietly with Springsteen on acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. Beginning in the second verse, a muted, ominous synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-and-horns sound begins to be heard, joined in halfway through the verse by a more pronounced, cyclical strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
line courtesy of the Nashville String Machine
Nashville String Machine
Nashville String Machine is a musical collective comprising session musicians and has been credited on recordings as far back as 1974. The Nashville String Machine's composition varies from project to project. It has appeared as large as an orchestra, or as small as a duo.-Notable members:Being a...
. After the second chorus, Springsteen plays a substantial harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
solo, high in the mix, as drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
from Steve Jordan
Steve Jordan (musician)
Steve Jordan is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, musical director and Grammy Award-winning artist, who has made a name for himself as a producer from the Bronx in New York City. A graduate of the Fiorello H...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
kick in. The third verse goes quiet again, before drums and percussion return; a reprise of the harmonica line carries the outro.
The single was released ahead of the album, initially appearing on AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
First Listen on March 28, 2005, then as a digital single on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on March 29, then on radio as of April 4 and finally from other digital music providers as of April 5.
"Devils & Dust" saw scant radio airplay and peaked at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, but the song received much more positive critical acclaim. The song was nominated for three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s: Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
, Best Rock Song
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre...
, and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo
The Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre...
; Springsteen won only the last, losing both of the others to U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
songs.
Music video
A music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of "Devils & Dust" was filmed at an empty Paramount Theatre
Paramount Theatre (Asbury Park)
The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey, is co-located with the Asbury Park Convention Hall on the boardwalk along the Atlantic Ocean. The two are connected by an arcade that spans the boardwalk, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and Bradley Park on the west. A statue of...
in Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...
. It featured Springsteen on stage lip-synching the song on just acoustic guitar and harmonica. Appearance of the other instruments on the audio was unexplained, and no attempt was made to illustrate the setting or themes of the song, other than a held camera shot from behind the stage at the end as Springsteen put down his instruments and walked off, empty seats all to be seen.
Live performance history
"Devils & Dust" was performed by Springsteen on several promotional television appearances, using just acoustic guitar and harmonica. When Springsteen eschewed accompanying musicians for the Devils & Dust TourDevils & Dust Tour
The Devils & Dust Tour was a 2005 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage on a variety of instruments. It followed the release of his 2005 album Devils & Dust.-Approach:...
, which began in April 2005, a solo "Devils & Dust" it was to be. Opinions differed on whether the song benefited from the focused intensity of this treatment or suffered from its shifting themes no longer being illustrated by the arrangement. After the tour's completion, Springsteen returned to give another solo performance of the song in February 2006 at the Grammy Awards of 2006
Grammy Awards of 2006
The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Irish rock band U2 were the big winners, winning five awards including Album of the Year. Mariah Carey, John Legend, and Kanye West each were nominated for eight awards and won three,...
show in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
; the performance was preceded by a glowing introduction from actor Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and immediately followed by a brief editorial exclamation from Springsteen, "Bring 'em home!" making reference to his desire for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq
The withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq has been a contentious issue within the United States since the beginning of the Iraq War. As the war has progressed from its initial 2003 invasion phase to a multi-year occupation, U.S. public opinion has turned in favor of troop withdrawal...
.
During the 2006 Sessions Band Tour
Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour
The Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour, afterward sometimes referred to simply as the Sessions Band Tour, was a 2006 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and The Sessions Band playing what was billed as "An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues," otherwise seen as a form...
, Springsteen played "Devils & Dust" intermittently, this time with something resembling the recording's arrangement but cast in the Sessions Band's "big folk" sound. Audience reaction was generally very strong.