Youngstown

Album: The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1995)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about an unemployed steelworker in Youngstown, Ohio. Most people think that Bruce is singing this song to a woman named Jenny ("my sweet Jenny I'm sinkin' down" etc.), but "Jenny" is the nickname given to the blast furnace at Youngstown steelworks - The Jeanette Blast Furnace (named after the daughter of W.A. Thomas, who was the President of Brier Hill Steel).

    It's common practice at steelworks to have nicknames for blast furnaces. For example, at Scunthorpe steelworks in the UK the four furnaces are known as Bess, Victoria, Anne and Mary (after four Queens of England/Britain). The fact that Bruce's character is singing to the furnace, rather than a person, changes the song considerably. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alex - Newport, Scotland
  • In a 2016 New York Times story on the reaction to Donald Trump in Youngstown, Ohio, they reported that Springsteen was inspired, in part, by Joe Marshall Jr., a steelworker from the city he read about in the book Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass. Marshall worked in the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office for 23 years after leaving the steel industry.
  • Springsteen talked about this song when he performed it at the Beacon Theatre in New York City in 1995. After reading the book Journey to Nowhere, he realized there was a gaping chasm between people who found prosperity in the '80s and '90s and those who found themselves out of work through no fault of their own. Often, the folks hit the hardest made good livings just years earlier doing honest, fulfilling work.

    "There were people coming in who'd made good livings previously and been able to support their wives and their kids and who'd played by all the rules and done all the right things an were coming up empty-handed," he said. "I read the book and I put it down and I laid awake and I thought, 'I only know how to do one thing. What if somebody came and told me that that one thing that I could do wasn't necessary anymore, after I was 30 years or 40 years down the road. That I wasn't needed, wasn't useful now. How would I come home at night and face my family and see my children if they needed something to eat or something to wear? How directly it would affect the core sense of who I am and what my place is. These were people that built the bridges that we cross, the buildings we live in. Who gave up their sons to the wars that we fought."
  • Springsteen wrote this as part of a series of songs on The Ghost Of Tom Joad where one character develops into another. He broke up the E Street Band six years before the album was released and went into a more introspective phase that coincided with his expanding family - his three children were born between 1990 and 1994.
  • "Youngstown" revisits a common Springsteen theme: the division between the wealthy and the working class. It's an issue that became even more relevant in later years as the divide grew, and one Springsteen continued to explore.
  • "Youngstown" is the most enduring song from The Ghost Of Tom Joad album. It's the only track from the album that he often played live after reuniting the E Street Band in 1999.

Comments: 20

  • SilvestrethecatFebruary 25th 2023 Is the last day of production in the factory I worked in for 36 years before they move to Mexico. February 25th is also the same day Bruce will be playing in Portland Oregon. I will be in Portland. I hope to hear this song because I worked as a furnace operator And that factory in this song has always had special meaning for me.
  • Vance R from Riverview , Mi Dittio to all the comments regarding now defunct steel mill towns - we will never recover no matter how many Wal-Marts are put up. Bruce gets that and captures the hopelessness so well in this song. Drive down West Jefferson in Downriver Detroit (watch for the pot holes)... a real-life Springsteen song.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyGreat song from a great CD; rates right up there with 'Nebraska'. Especially liked "Highway 29"!!!
  • Neal from Youngstown, Oh Growing up in Youngstown when it was one of the largest steel making cities in the country just to watch it dwindle down to ashes was hard to watch. I remember as a kid on a warm summer night you could see the reddish orange glow of molten steel in the skies from different mills along the river as it was being poured. It was booming town with huge mansions lined up on Logan Ave. for miles and miles. Youngstown was also a place where the Warner brothers lived a good part of their young lives. Jack Warner worked as a young man cutting meat in a butcher shop downtown. When he sold the Warner Brothers Studios he commented on who would have thought a young butcher from Youngstown, Ohio could end up so well off. But her best days are behind her and a lot of its children have grown and moved on. But it's amazing how many miss this area and eventually move back home. If you ever have a chance to Google its' history, you'll be amazed at some of the successful people who were from Youngstown.
  • Sami from Stockholm, SwedenHe played this song in Stockholm this summer ( Instead of playing Ghost of Tom Joad) I love both songs but i am so happy that he played this one cause ever since i saw the Live In New York DVD for the first time i have loved it, and he played a electric version of it wich totally blew my mind.
    I also think the line " Once I made you rich enough/ Rich enough to forget my name" is one the best lines in a song, ever.
  • Christian from Pa, PaThe song is a great tribute.
    The music is also great and it should be...Bruce apparently stole it from Bob Segar's "Turn the Page"!
  • Susanna from Helsinki, FinlandThe song is based on Michael Williamson book "Journey to Nowhere" and tells the actual story of two steelworkers, father Ken Platt Sr, and son, Ken Platt Jr.

    Taconite (iron ore), coke and limestone are the feedstock of a blast furnace. The scarfer burns off any irregularities of finished steel. The Jeannette blast furnace, "sweet Jenny", was taken out of blast 1977 and demolished two decades later.
  • Susanna from Helsinki, FinlandThe song is based on Michael Williamson book "Journey to Nowhere" and tells the actual story of two steelworkers, father Ken Platt Sr, and son, Ken Platt Jr.

    Taconite (iron ore), coke and limestone are the feedstock of a blast furnace. The scarfer burns off any irregularities of finished steel. The Jeannette blast furnace, "sweet Jenny", was taken out of blast 1977 and demolished two decades later.
  • Bruce from Johnstown, PaGood tune.
  • Rob from Detroit, MiI am originally from Steubenville, another mill town sixty miles south of Youngstown. It strikes me as uncanny how Springsteen ( and likewise Billy Joel's Allentown) can capture the flavor and poignancy of the entire steel making process.
  • Greg from Grand Rapids, MiMy best friend's dad worked the steel mills in Youngstown. He told me this song pretty much says how he and many others feel about it all.
  • Frank from Youngstown, OhI live in Youngstown,and this song fits everything down to a T. My father, uncle, grandfather, and countless other relatives all worked the mill until close. The closing hit the family pretty badly since there wasn't much else to do here at the time.
  • Mark from Worcester, MiGlenn from New Zealand don't sweat it. Popularity of yesteryears rockers comes and goes. Bruce will be hot again in 10 years or so, like Zeppelin is now and the Beatles are always coming and going and around we go. Things go in cycles. Cripes even the Monkeys got hot awhile ago. People will continue to rediscover Bruce as long as forever is around.
  • Mark from Worcester, MiI agree with the posters here on the Nils Lofgren solo. What a vastly underated guitar player. He added a lot to the E Street Band. I love Bruce and Miami Steve, and I've seen them a ton like I'm sure you guys have, but they aren't in the same guitar picking league with Lofgren. This song live is "Living Proof" :)
  • Steve from Fenton, MoThis is one of only about 10 songs I like of Springsteen's since the River album. The electric version of this song on the live in New York City cd is incredible. The lyrics on this song are some of Bruce's best
  • Phil from Youngstown, OhAs a lifelong resident of Youngstown, Ohio this song hits close to home obviously. My grandfather worked at the steel mill until they closed. Reminds me of him. Bruce came and sang this song here. Nice to see Bruce put us on the map and to bring to light the sad story that is the steel mills in Youngstown and other similar cities.
  • Tom from Hartford, CtAgreed - some of Bruce's best writing ever. How about this line? Brilliant.
    Once I made you rich enough/
    Rich enough to forget my name
  • Thomas from Reichshoffen, FranceOne of my favorite songs ever... Heard it first at a Boss' show in Paris around 1999. Nils' solo is awesome and lyrics need no comment! I read something like "Springsteen's version of Dylan's 'With God On Our Side'" ; there's something with it.
  • Carlos from Albacete, SpainI´m agree with Glenn. Most of the lyrics from The Ghost of Tom Joad album are great verses from a great poet.When this song was performed in the Reunion Tour 1999-2000, it included an amazing guitar solo by Nils Lofgren
  • Glenn from Dunedin, New ZealandIts disappointing you have so few comments posted about Springsteen, I couldn't stand that you didn't have the lyrics for this song - so I've submitted them. Whats wrong with the world?! Are we just going to forget about this/last century's poets? "When I die I don't want no part of heaven, I would not do heavens work well, I pray the devil comes and takes me, To stand in fiery furnaces of hell."
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Zakk Wylde

Zakk WyldeSongwriter Interviews

When he was playing Ozzfest with Black Label Society, a kid told Zakk he was the best Ozzy guitarist - Zakk had to correct him.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song Spoofs

A Monster Ate My Red Two: Sesame Street's Greatest Song SpoofsSong Writing

When singers started spoofing their own songs on Sesame Street, the results were both educational and hilarious - here are the best of them.

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.