"The Wrestler" is the title song from the 2008 film '' The Wrestler.'' The track was written and performed by
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
.
The origins of the song are based in a lost and resumed friendship between Springsteen and ''Wrestler'' lead actor
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films.
During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...
; Rourke told Springsteen about his upcoming film and asked if Springsteen could write a song for it. Springsteen subsequently did, played it for Rourke and director
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction.
Arono ...
before a concert. When they liked it, Springsteen gave them the song for no fee.
It first appeared in August 2008 at the
65th Venice International Film Festival
The 65th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 27 August 2008 by '' Burn After Reading'',Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...
Satellite Award for Best Original Song
The Satellite Award for Best Original Song is an annual award given by the International Press Academy
The International Press Academy (IPA) is an American association of professional entertainment journalists, representing both domestic and for ...
. The song was widely expected to receive a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...
at the 81st Academy Awards, where Springsteen would perform it on the awards show, but in what ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' termed "shocking news", it was denied a nomination on January 22, 2009, when the Academy nominated only three songs in the category rather than the usual five. The song was nominated for an MTV Movie Award and a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
, but lost to
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
's " Jai Ho" respectively.
The song was used in the credits of
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's 2015 E:60 documentary "WWE: Behind the Curtain."
Recording and video
The recorded version, sans end-credits string introduction, became available on
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
on December 16, in advance of the film's U.S. major cities openings in the subsequent days. Springsteen recorded it at his Thrill Hill Recording studio in New Jersey, played all the instruments, and produced it himself.
It was then included as a bonus track on Springsteen's late-January 2009 album release, '' Working on a Dream'', although "The Wrestler" was a stark departure from the romantic pop themes and elaborate production of the rest of the album.
A
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
Working on a Dream Tour
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album '' Working on a Dream''. This was the first ...
. Played late in the main set, it was given a long synthesizer-style introduction, a quiet arrangement, and subdued stage lighting. During subsequent legs of the tour the song was rarely played.