"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" is a song 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 ...

that was first released in a recording with the E Street Band on his 2002 album '' The Rising''. Although the song was not released as a single in the United States, it was released as a single in Europe, and was a hit in Sweden.

History and themes

While many songs on ''The Rising'' were written in response to the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" was written earlier. Springsteen wrote and recorded the song in 1998 or 1999, but that recording has not been released. On June 17, 1999, during the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour, Springsteen and the band played the song for a

soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

, but did not play it during any of the actual shows on the tour. The song was finally recorded again in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

during the ''Rising'' sessions and was released on that album. The song combines a simple, bouncy melody and arrangement powered by drums, acoustic guitars and

Soozie Tyrell Soozie Tyrell (born May 4, 1957), formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly The Sessions Band. Biography Tyrell was ...

's violin with a lyric that describes optimism in a couple's relationship: :''It's raining, but there ain't a cloud in the sky'' :''Must have been a tear from your eye'' :''Everything'll be okay ...'' The words of the chorus are deliberately simple, to the consternation of some critics: :''I'm waitin', waitin' on a sunny day,'' :''Gonna chase the clouds away'' :''Waitin' on a sunny day.'' Instrumental breaks during the middle and end of the song feature

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several ...

's saxophone set against a glockenspiel and a backing vocal chorus singing "oohs" and "aahs". Although "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" was written prior to the September 11 attacks, the song's theme of wanting to be happy again takes on additional meanings within the context of the album's explicitly themed September 11 songs. In his book ''The Gospel According to Bruce Springsteen'', author Jeffrey Symynkywicz views the song as a reflection of the simpler world prior to September 11. "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" is one of a few songs on ''The Rising'' that recall the E Street Band's R&B roots. Springsteen has described it as "a good example of pop songwriting" and also as the type of song he tends to "want to throw out...directly into the trash can" until former producer

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and rec ...

talks him out of it. Springsteen has also stated that he wrote the song in the style of

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

Release

Although the song was not released as a single in the United States, it was released as a single in Europe, and reached number 15 in Sweden. It also charted in Germany and the Netherlands. It also charted in Australia. There, it was released as part of a four-track single: # "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" tudio version# " Born to Run" ive# "Darkness on the Edge of Town" ive# " Thunder Road" ive The three live tracks were culled from 2000 Reunion Tour shows featured on the '' Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City'' DVD; the latter two had not appeared on the parallel ''Live in New York City'' CD release. This four-track configuration was also released as an EP titled ''Waitin' on a Sunny Day'' in 2004. Despite its success as a live track and hit status in Europe, it wasn't released on any Bruce Springsteen compilation album. However, it was released on the Bruce Springsteen Live Series album ''Songs of Summer''. It's the most streamed track from its album on Spotify.

Music video

A music video was released in 2002 although it was not of the studio version and instead the live performance from the DVD, Live in Barcelona.

Live performances

Waitin' on a Sunny Day Meadowlands 052109

The song has become a standout in concert performances by Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was a centerpiece of

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. It followed the release of their 2002 album '' The Rising''. Itine ...

, often played immediately after the somber "Empty Sky" and " You're Missing" to lift the crowd's spirits. From the beginning, his performances of it featured crowd interaction, with the song's simple chorus making it easy for the audience to assimilate and sing along ''en masse''. A Rising Tour performance documented on the 2003 '' Live in Barcelona'' concert DVD features a rearranged, drum-less opening section, a chorus given to sideman Steve Van Zandt, and Springsteen walking along the front row of the pit and then stopping the band to allow the crowd to sing by itself. "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" received a segment during Bruce Springsteen's appearance on the '' VH1 Storytellers'' television program in 2005 (later released on his '' VH1 Storytellers'' DVD), then appeared in a few encores during the subsequent 2005 solo Devils & Dust Tour. It was then played intermittently during Springsteen and the band's 2007–2008 Magic Tour. It then resumed a full role during the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour, appearing in virtually all of the shows. Springsteen commonly picked out one or more youngsters from the front of the pit area and had them sing along on the song. Despite still being a "new" song compared to much of Springsteen's concert repertoire, it nonetheless got a strong audience response. One such performance was included on video on the '' London Calling: Live in Hyde Park'' concert DVD in 2010. Featuring drums, a Clemons baritone sax part and a

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...

slide guitar part all from the start, Springsteen played the song to the hilt, running along the front of the Hard Rock Calling audience (a general festival crowd that was not all Springsteen fans), encouraging and getting singalongs at every chorus, and getting a boy sitting on his parent's shoulders to sing. Youngster-featured performances continued as a staple of the 2012 Wrecking Ball Tour. However, the song's constant presence and predictable format in concerts (almost always toward the end of the main set, with a crowd sing-along and a child picked out from the pit to sing) have caused it to be widely disliked among hardcore fans, many of whom take a bathroom break each time it is played. In response, an employee in Shore Fire Media said, "The song and singalong is enjoyed by tens of thousands every night. We love our devoted fans who go to multiple shows, but they have to remember they are still a minority of the total audience."Rollingstone
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Chart performance

References

External links

{{Authority control 2002 songs 2003 singles Bruce Springsteen songs Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Columbia Records singles