On the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Richie Sambora released "Engine 19", a song he wrote with Bernie Taupin (best known for his collaborations with Elton John).
Listen to Richie Sambora - Engine 19
I've transcribed the lyrics as I heard them... Corrections welcome.
We come from the islands and boroughs
We grew up on these streets round here
Me and my brothers Pat and Danny
Been putting out fires for years
Our old man and his father before him
Rode out when the siren screamed
Now we work out of the same place together
That's Engine 19
Yeah, we're boys from New York doing our job
There's times we get hurt, there's those that we've lost
In the fire and the smoke from the roof caving in
When there's one less comes out from Engine 19
I'll admit when the summers get brutal
I see twisted steel in my dreams
And I hear the crack of old timber
and I know there's a hell that I've seen
But we go round the corner on Friday
To this little old neighbourhood bar
Drink us some beers and shoot pool
Turn in a game or play cards
We're the boys from New York doing our job
There's times we get hurt, there's those that we've lost
In the fire and the smoke from a roof caving in
When there's one less comes out from Engine 19
The boys from New York get on back up
And out of the shields in the ashes and dust
Every inch of that ladder, every man on this team
They all ride out together with Engine 19
Singing la dada dada, Engine 19
We're the boys from New York, Engine 19
Feels good to be a part of something, the chain of command
A brotherhood bound like a family, the strength of a wedding band
Every inch of that ladder, every man on this team
They all ride out together
Our old man and his father before him
Rode out when the siren screamed
We are boys from New York doing our Job
There's times we get hurt, there's those that we've lost
In the fire and the smoke from a roof caving in
When there's one less comes out from Engine 19
But boys from New York get on back up
And out of the shields in the ashes and dust
Every inch of that ladder, every man on this team
They all ride out together with Engine 19
Singing la dada dada, Engine 19
Singing la dada dada, Engine 19
We're boys from New York, Engine 19
We're the boys from New York
The storytelling is something wouldn't feel out of place with Elton John sitting at a piano -- not surprising, given the contribution of Elton's lyricist -- but my first thought upon hearing "Engine 19" was that it reminded me of Bruce Springsteen, particularly "
Racing in the Street", despite the different subject matter.
Do you like the song? Is this the type of solo stuff you'd like from Richie in the future?