Stephen Foster’s impact on American music can’t be understated. You know his songs even if you didn’t know he wrote them: “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” “Swanee River,” and of course his 1854 classic “Hard Times Come Again No More.”
What many don’t realize is just how young Foster was when he wrote those songs. He was only 28 when he wrote “Hard Times”; he was only 22 when he wrote “Oh! Susanna.” He was just as much a prodigy in his time as Bruce Springsteen is in ours, writing more than 200 songs in his short life. (Foster died at the age of 37.)
His influence lives on through today. “Hard Times Come Again No More” has been covered in the studio by Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Johnny Cash, Mavis Staples, and many more. And on stage, the list is even longer.
Bruce is one of many artists who have covered Foster in concert. During his Working on a Dream Tour in recession-era 2009, “Hard Times Come Again No More” was a nightly encore staple, a song of resilience and solidarity–two evergreen Springsteen themes. One memorable performance was captured on his London Calling: Live in Hyde Park concert film.
Bruce changed very little of Foster’s lyrics (although he dropped a couple of verses), but that was a late-breaking decision. Backstage at Bruce’s first rehearsal show, Los Angeles Times reporter Geoff Boucher observed a notebook opened to a page with Foster’s original lyrics, with large chunks changed and modernized before Bruce changed his mind and decided to go with the original version.
But if his lyrics are traditional, Bruce’s arrangement is a departure. He dials up the emotion in the pleading chorus, and with the help of his backing vocalists he transforms the song almost into gospel.
Bruce and the E Street Band performed Foster’s song throughout the entire tour but not once since, even though it’s more relevant today than ever. Let’s hope it won’t be by the time Bruce gets back out on the road again next year.
Hard Times Come Again No More
First performed: March 23, 2009 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: November 20, 2009 (Baltimore, MD)
Love this!
I loved Bruce’s version of “Hard Times Come Again No More”. I’m pretty familiar with Stephen Foster’s music, and remember thinking that “Hard Times” would have been a great fit, musically and thematically, on the Sessions Tour. I was pleasantly surprised when it really did appear on the WOAD tour. I was at the opening night show in San Jose, and it knocked my socks off.