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Springsteen Launches Jersey Stand With New "Wrecking Ball"

October 1, 2009 1:53 PM ET

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band kicked off their five-night Giants Stadium stand last night with a brand new song called "Wrecking Ball" — a tribute to the venue that's months away from being demolished. In the surprisingly poignant track, Springsteen takes the voice of the gigantic concrete structure ("I was raised out of steel in the swamps of Jersey/I've seen champions come and go") but was also clearly singing about his own life just days after his sixtieth birthday. (The best footage is above; full song below.)

Flip through vintage photos of Bruce Springsteen.

The song kicked off a three-hour-and-15- minute epic that featured a complete performance of Born To Run alongside new tracks and rarities like "E Street Shuffle" and "Growing Up." Tomorrow he'll perform Darkness On The Edge Of Town in its entirety and on Saturday he'll do Born In The U.S.A. for the first time ever. Rolling Stone will have a report from Springsteen's final Jersey gig — a U.S.A. show on October 9th — so stay tuned.

Related Stories:
Photos: Artifacts from Springsteen's Career
The Band on Bruce
Clarence Clemons Answers Burning Questions

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