We know that Bruce has employed biblical imagery in his songs pretty much since he started writing them, but am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that Bruce released songs about Jonah and the whale on two albums in a row?
Okay, maybe “Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale)” isn’t really about Jonah, but that Wrecking Ball bonus track certainly uses the myth as metaphor.
But it’s still made me wonder when I first listened to “Heaven’s Wall” on Bruce’s follow-up High Hopes album: Bruce sure seemed to have repentance on his mind for a while.
We’ll discuss the lyrics in a bit, but let’s take a few minutes to listen to the track. In fact, maybe listen twice, because there’s a lot going on in “Heaven’s Wall.”
See what I mean? In the first twenty seconds alone, we segue from a cowbell count-off to a samba intro to a gospel choir. The first verse hasn’t even kicked in yet, and I’m already dizzy.
There was a woman waiting at the well
Drawing water ‘neath the desert sky blue
She said, “He’ll heal the blind, raise the dead, cure the sickness out of you”
I’m a far cry from a biblical scholar–I’m not even sure I’ve read the greatest hits–so it’s possible I may be missing the significance of many of the references in “Heaven’s Wall.” But it seems pretty clear to me that the song is a celebration of the forgiveness that awaits those who truly repent their sins and embrace their faith.
That said, I can’t help but feel that “Heaven’s Wall” is more of a songwriting experiment (“I wonder if I can write a gospel song”) than a story that had to be told. Or more accurately, it feels like an arranging experiment, because that Latin/gospel intro was just the beginning. Check out the eerie string effects that start with the next line and continue throughout the rest of the verses–it raises the hair on my arms every time I hear it.
Come on men of Gideon
Come on men of Saul
Come on sons of Abraham
Waiting outside heaven’s wall
Raise your hand, raise your hand, raise your hand
Raise your hand, raise your hand, raise your hand
And together we’ll walk into Canaan land
Raise your hand, raise your hand, raise your hand
He saw the watcher at the city gates
Jonah in the belly of the whale
He watched you walk your ragged mile
His mercy did not fail
Most reviews that mentioned “Heaven’s Wall” focused on Tom Morello’s dueling guitar solos: he plays call-and-response solos that alternate between left and right channels–not only a cool technical effect but a clever way of underscoring the song’s gospel spirit.
Morello’s solos may be the flashiest part of the arrangement, but to me the most impressive aspect of “Heaven’s Wall” is the fact that it works at all. If I didn’t know that Bruce has never done drugs in his life, I’d swear he must have been smoking something when he came up with the idea to blend a samba rhythm, a middle eastern melody, a gospel choir, a self-guitar duel, and discordant strings into one giant melange.
And it does indeed work. I can’t say that “Heaven’s Wall” is one of my favorite songs in Springsteen’s catalog, or even just on that one album, but I can’t help fixating on it every time I hear it.
It’s entrancing. I notice different things every time I hear it, and even if I don’t love it, I love knowing it exists.
Keep on experimenting, Bruce!
Bruce played “Heaven’s Wall” live for the first time on the very day the High Hopes album dropped: January 14, 2014 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Skip ahead to the 24:10 mark below and you can watch the live debut. (Nils plays the role of “Right Ear Tom” during the solos, because it would be weird to watch Tom duel himself.)
Personally, I don’t think the songs ever translated perfectly from studio to stage–the E Street Band can’t quite capture live the alchemy of the studio track.
It’s not for lack of trying, though–they gave it several great tries throughout the High Hopes Tour, and each was a lot of fun for both band and fans, starting with this rehearsal take in Cape Town.
Despite playing it for almost half of the entire High Hopes Tour, Bruce hasn’t touched “Heaven’s Wall” since, possibly because Morello’s absence would be noticeable during the solos, more likely because the deep cut wouldn’t have fit well on the River Tour (the only tour since High Hopes).
But “Heaven’s Wall” is a fascinating song that explores dominant themes in Bruce’s modern music–it hopefully won’t remain dormant for long.
Heaven’s Wall
Recorded: 2007-2013
Released: High Hopes (2014)
First performed: January 14, 2014 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: April 26, 2014 (Atlanta, GA)
Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our full index. New entries every week!
