"Meeting Across the River" is the seventh track on Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough 1975 album, ''

Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. As his effort to break into the mainstream, the album was a commercial success, peaking at number three ...

''; it also appeared as the B-side of "

", the lead single from that album. The song is often paired with "Jungleland" in concert, though without the

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on No ...

trumpet part from the record and with regular bass guitarist

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being bass player and founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band si ...

Description

The song is a dark character sketch featuring a soft, haunting

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

played by

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

backing from

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

member

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synthe ...

and

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

veteran Richard Davis. Brecker's jazz-inspired horn part adds poignancy to the song and suggests a '' film noir'' feel. The lyrical, understated tune forms a bridge between the powerful "She's the One" and the album's epic finale "

Jungleland "Jungleland" is the closing song on Bruce Springsteen's 1975 album ''Born to Run''. It contains one of E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons' most recognizable solos. It also features short-time E Streeter Suki Lahav, who performs the deli ...

". It also forms a bridge between the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

-based songs throughout the ''Born to Run'' album and the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

setting of "Jungleland". Presumably, the hoods in "Meeting Across the River" are heading through "the tunnel" under the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

from New Jersey to New York to meet their connection. The lyrics describe a low-level criminal, down on his luck but with one last chance at success for him and his friend, Eddie, that involves meeting a man across the river. Springsteen portrays his characters sympathetically. The narrator appears to be desperate; he needs to borrow some money and a ride from Eddie, and his girlfriend is threatening to leave because he has pawned her radio. The details are vague, but the consequences if they fail at their task seem to be very serious, and the song's sombre tone does not imply that they will succeed. Lyrics also imply that the man has never really been qualified for crime; however, the promise of a $2,000 payoff, and the thought that this might make his girlfriend stay with him, has caused him to get in over his head. Original pressings of ''

'' billed the song as "The Heist", suggesting the man across the river is paying the narrator and Eddie to commit a robbery. "Meeting Across the River" is in some ways similar in theme to

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

's " Waiting for the Man", which is a depiction of a drug deal. The book ''Meeting Across The River: Stories Inspired by the Haunting Song by Bruce Springsteen'' is a collection of short stories edited by Jessica Kaye and Richard Brewer.

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: * Bruce Springsteen – vocals *

– piano * Richard Davis – double bass *

– trumpet

Covers

The song was covered by Syd Straw in 1997.

References

External links

Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeting Across The River Bruce Springsteen songs Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Jon Landau 1975 songs Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen