Bruce Springsteen

Released: April 25, 2006

Songwriter: Traditional

Producer: Jon Landau Bruce Springsteen

"Mrs. McGrath," the sergeant said
"Would you like to make a soldier
Out of your son, Ted?
With a scarlet cloak and a big cocked hat
Mrs. McGrath, wouldn't you like that?"

With your too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with your too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

Mrs. McGrath lived on the shore
And after seven years or more
She spied a ship come into the bay
With her son from far away

"Oh, Captain dear, where have you been
Have you been out sailing on the Mediterranean
Have you news of my son Ted
Is he living or is he dead?"

With your too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with your too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

Now then came Ted without any legs
And in their place, two wooden pegs
She kissed him a dozen times or two
And said, "My God, Ted, is it you?"

"Now were you drunk or were you blind
When you left your two fine legs behind?
Or was it walking upon the sea
That bore your two fine legs away?"

With a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
With a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

"No, I wasn't drunk and I wasn't blind
When I left my two fine legs behind
A cannonball on the fifth of May
Tore my two fine legs away"

"Ah, Teddy, boy," the widow cried
"Your two fine legs were your mother's pride
Them stumps of a tree won't do at all
Why didn't you run from the cannonball?"

With a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
With a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

"Well, foreign wars, I do proclaim
Live on only blood and a mother's pain
I'd rather have my son as he used to be
Then the King of America and his whole Navy"

With a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
With a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
With a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa, with a too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-aa, too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

Bruce Springsteen is a rock ‘n’ roll icon from the great state of New Jersey. Nicknamed “The Boss,” he’s known for spirited sax-powered anthems about working-class people making their way in the world. Backed by the trusty E Street Band, he’s sold more than 120 million records, won numerous awards (including 20 Grammys and an Oscar), sold out stadiums around the globe, and earned a place alongside his teenage heroes in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Although he’s a living legend who ranks among the most important artists in rock history, Springsteen wasn’t an overnight success. Around the time of his first album, 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., he was dismissed as just another “new Dylan"—some scruffy folk singer with a decent vocabulary looking to follow in Bob’s footsteps. In the decade that followed, Springsteen proved himself to be much more.

His breakthrough came with his third album, 1975’s Born to Run. The record hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and landed the singer-songwriter on the cover of both Time and Newsweek. Bruce nabbed his first chart-topping album five years later with The River, and in 1984, he went global with Born in the U.S.A., a critical and commercial smash that produced seven Top 10 singles.

more tracks from the album

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

From the album

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)

Bruce Springsteen popular songs

Mrs. McGrathBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions