Bruce Springsteen

Released: March 6, 2012

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Ron Aniello Bruce Springsteen

[Verse 1]
Gray morning light spits through the shade
Another day older, closer to the grave
Closer to the grave and come the dawn
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

[Chorus]
Shackled and drawn, shackled and drawn
Pick up the rock son, carry it on
I’m trudging through the dark in a world gone wrong
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

[Verse 2]
I always loved the feel of sweat on my shirt
Stand back son and let a man work
Let a man work, is that so wrong?
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

[Chorus]
Shackled and drawn, shackled and drawn
Pick up the rock son, carry it on
What's a poor boy to do in a world gone wrong?
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

[Verse 3]
Freedom's, son, a dirty shirt
The sun on my face and my shovel in the dirt
A shovel in the dirt keeps the devil gone
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

[Chorus]
Shackled and drawn, shackled and drawn
Pick up the rock son, carry it on
What's a poor boy to do but keep singing this song?
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

[Verse 4]
Gambling man rolls the dice, workingman pays the bill
It’s still fat and easy up on banker’s hill
Up on banker’s hill, the party’s going strong...
Down here below we’re shackled and drawn

[Chorus]
Shackled and drawn, shackled and drawn
Pick up the rock son, carry it on
I’m trudging through the dark in a world gone wrong
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

Shackled and drawn, shackled and drawn
Pick up the rock son, carry it on
What's a poor boy to do but keep singing this song?
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

[Outro: Cindy Mizelle]
I want everybody to stand up
I want everybody to stand up and be counted tonight
You know we got to pray together
I want you to stand up
I want everybody to stand up and be counted tonight

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

Wrecking Ball

From the album

Wrecking Ball (2012)

Bruce Springsteen popular songs

Shackled and DrawnBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Wrecking Ball