MILLWORKER by Bruce Springsteen

[@bsand2053]

James's performance of this song has the despair, Bruce's has the rage. Love how they pair

[@alannesbitt9216]

Very well said. Authenticity at its best from both artists.

[@miller144stuff]

How can one man with a guitar have so much stage presence? The Boss is the boss. I watch this all the time and still tear up. Beautiful.

[@jjjtttggg]

It's why he is what he is! :)

[@kindnessfirst9670]

Me too.

[@U2bPsyche]

James wrote the song for a Broadway play, "Working", in 1979, in which several artists wrote songs portraying real people who were interviewed about their jobs. James also wrote "Traffic Jam" and "Brother Trucker" for the play. "Millworker" Words and Music by James Taylor (c)1979

[@xaviermagnate]

Simply melodic and emotional PERFECTION!!!!

[@richsr.7589]

I'm a die hard James Taylor fan but I must admit I was very moved by Springsteen's rendition. And I love the critiques that everyone's written here. Reading them has been almost as moving as listening to the song itsself...well done.

[@xaviermagnate]

Excellent observation and comment... Thank you, soul friend!

[@WillYouTasteMyJuice]

If this does not give you a chill down your spine, you have no soul.

[@plutoe36]

Wow! Talk about putting breathing some passion and life into a song. I would kill to see that live.

[@pablomeness4227]

A Perfect interpretation of Mr. Bruce Springsteen that shows in harsh tunes and voice how it is really hard a wasted life working for someone that he will never meet but, in same time, with 1 only hope to give a better chance to someone else. And how it is hard to keep doing that for one only hope. Great the sound of the machine with the time, guitar and harmonica and his body moves. Nothing less than perfect to see and watch again again to appreciate details and motivations of every single note before to comment.

[@CJPHOTO3]

This version more then any other I have ever heard on youtube or any where else is a shining example of what personal life experience brings to the creation of great works of art. I am primarily a James Taylor fan and I'm in love with this song and the style in which james plays it. Listening to Bruce sing it brings forth a completly different experience. Much different then Jame but just as powerefull and beautiful in its own way .

[@Transterra55]

Always room for an adaptaton of a beautiful song....I LOVE James Taylor's melodic, Celtic-tinged version, but also love this ragged, cacophonous variant as well. That's what keeps music alive.

[@jcc7386]

I actually love this version. I'm a huge fan of James Taylor's music and own about every record you can own of his, but I actually like Springsteen's version better. The pain in his voice makes this song personal, as maybe a life-long millworker may sound. My grandfather was a mill foreman, and he had that pain...that pain...in his voice. Springsteen's version reminds me of him.

[@jcp1984again]

Oh my God, his harmonica solo near the end gets me emotional every time. Every note depicts the millworker's memories and sadness. Incredible. I also love how The Boss handles his 12-string guitar.

[@2012USNA]

Captures the anger and defeat of an unfulfilled person trapped in a meaningless existence. Much more powerful than the original.

[@PerthTowne]

We disagree. The original as sung by JT is not angry, because that's not the emotion he is trying to convey. It's more full of sadness and despair. Springsteen's version is very different, but JT's original version, for me, captures the melancholy and hopelessness that is right for that song.

[@londonvz9253]

What? The reason his songs are timeless and ring true and beautiful is because that's exactly what they are

[@yourturn777]

AGAIN NO MENTION OF EMMYLOU? 🤦

[@sparkyellis6128]

His version is easily one of my favorite songs of all time. I wish there was a high quality audio version available. So well done.

[@daviddefigueiredo6018]

I agree, and I don't like the guy! But this is very moving!

[@staggjb]

As a former "factory worker", this song gives me chills.

[@burjazz]

Very respectable performance.Great job Bruce.

[@rosrebel]

I m not a Springsteen fan ...but this is an honest version ...very powerful ..

[@BJDJMusic]

I definitely agree

[@jjjtttggg]

you need work on the that "not a Springsteen fan". LOL! :)

[@Derbstaff76]

I want to make an obvious point but must be understood, he just played that amazingly moving version of that song with only his guitar, harmonica, and voice........it really feels like a whole string and brass band is behind him.....great job Bruce!

[@SterlingRe]

Bruce put his own amazing spin on an awesome song. IMHO Millworker is one of Jame's very best songs. Good stuff!!

[@elliottpittam9564]

The best cover of this JT masterpiece that I’ve ever heard

[@yourturn777]

EmmyLou.

[@dterrydraw]

@@yourturn777 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJ3MfJhjZtGkqtk

[@johnlenny8543]

I am 53 years old. I have been a fool listening to this man.

[@AlvitaLozanoCreativeMindatWork]

Powerful performance! 🙌🏽

[@jcp1984again]

I love Bruce with 12-string steel. In my opinion the best musicians in the world can perform great gigs both with and without a band. Bruce can. I think that Millworker is a song that deserves two different versions. I love 'em both and maybe this one just a little more.

[@dterrydraw]

It already HAS another, definitive version, and has done so for years....go to: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJ3MfJhjZtGkqtk

[@Aiden057]

Great version of the song. You can hear the machine grinding way into the forever days of the worker's life.

[@kick1822]

James writes a beautiful song that was made to be sung like this

[@eyescandeceive]

wow--what a unique interpretation of this classic

[@anelladambrosio2513]

Amo questa canzone! La versione di Bruce e molto bella! Cosi emozionante... 😊🤗😍😘🎶🎸🎶💘❤️💋💯💯🌅

[@wpw4508]

I've seen Bruce once, in San Francisco, in the late 70's (probably Winterland 1978). He didn't quite do it for me then (but to be fair, back then I was more of a Dead/Doobies/Lynyrd Skynyrd/Rick Derringer type). But 10 years ago in 2008 I saw the livestream of this performance, and he nailed it so good, I've been a closet fan since. And I'm now enjoying his Netflix concert, here in late 2018.

[@robrobster9148]

Wow, he really gave so much meaning to this song....incredible

[@occyman]

Great version

[@paulsharkey6673]

Fucking Beautiful.

[@angus7278]

Bruce could give all singers a lesson in owning a song.

[@hansg562]

He sings it like it was his own I respect that!

[@kindnessfirst9670]

It seems like James Taylor did a great job of writing a Springsteen song! It could have gone on Darkness, The River, Nebraska or The Ghost of Tom Joad very nicely.

[@jjjtttggg]

Defs Tom Joad! and I agree!

[@kevinstarks5151]

This is the deal! Get with it!

[@xaviermagnate]

FACTS!

[@johnnyshaman3525]

So true Fredrik. Some of the negative comments concerning this performance are just plain asinine, particularly the one by Mark T. This is a stellar performance. Period.

[@20050716]

Bruce is amazing

[@johnnyshaman3525]

+Harry Moore Yes!

[@catskillmountainman5]

Sadly, this performance is all about Bruce and not about the song...

[@20050716]

streets of philadelphia the great man bruce

[@samsonwilkinson8090]

He owns this song.

[@subcomandantetroncos]

amazing! thanx for sharing

[@AlvitaLozanoCreativeMindatWork]

Such an original spin on this gem. The harmonica makes me tear up. 👊🏼❤

[@martingardner9124]

Best surprise. The BOSS for JT. Once saw the two in concert just months apart (boss in February at a venue where I’ve seen JT 3x. JT in May) this year that’ll be repeated - boss beginning of March, JT Independence Day.

[@maetzchenmusik]

Always displaying a working man's memorial. To each one his own.

[@rbtguthrie]

"Sing with your mouth, and you'll touch an ear. Sing with your heart, and you'll touch a heart." JT vs Bruce in a nutshell.

[@evilynn333]

Anybody vs Bruce in a nutshell, but I do like JT.

[@hansgoodrockintonight1071]

Great performance!

[@torreyjeff]

My grandparents owed a pastry shop on Essex Street in Lawrence MA. Fed many of those millworkers...

[@Britman4life]

absolutely amazing, more evidence why bruce is the boss

[@bunnoatnichibei]

I'm a long, long time James Taylor fan, but I'd never liked this song much. I've never been a big Bruce Springsteen fan, but I think I just became one. The first time I heard Bruce do this, I thought, "Ah hah! So that's how that song is supposed to sound." I haven't been able to get it out of my head since.

[@kindnessfirst9670]

Well said.

[@yourturn777]

EmmyLou

[@TheNellamaria]

Cool Bruce as usually!

[@BarneeFife]

I went to 5 or 6 JT concerts in the late 70’s & early 80’s. I bought the ‘Flag’ album when it came out and that song has haunted me, in a friendly way, since then. Especially being that I’ve been a construction worker my entire life, even more now that the window is closing on me…specifically the line “Its me and my machine, for the rest of the morning, the rest of the afternoon, for the rest of my life…..)…..

[@judiroth7855]

Wow👏👏👏❤️

[@troyabbottmalbon]

Holy shit! That was amazing!

[@mgrealdeals]

OMG .. There is a Reason why he is called the Boss. BAD ASS.

[@grantheness3028]

Fantastic version............

[@TurtleRocker12]

I love "Drive All Night"

[@cardo1111]

Leave it to the boss to pick this gem, one of JT's greatest, so powerful.

[@davemcbroom695]

Awesome.

[@paulsharkey6673]

EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!

[@okrajoe]

Amazing - just amazing

[@solomonsfarm]

Bruce tore a hole through that one. Geez

[@DrVonChilla]

Absolutely mesmerizing performance!!

[@sstyblo]

As a dog walker I find myself singing "Dog walking ain't easy, dog walking ain't hard..dog walking ain't nothin' but a boring fucking job"..

[@anitadavideduo]

THIS IS GREAT!

[@robinlennon6248]

Bruce likes to do songs about blue collar workers.his dad worked in steel mills in pa.

[@d.s.davenport610]

powerful

[@walterbrob]

BOSS what else ya need to know

[@martinclarke250]

Springsteen,the greatest artist ever...this is simply magnificent! So powerful! I like James singing it,but Bruce is on another level completely.

[@Fotrane]

Only Bruce could get away with that....well done.

[@williamzander4732]

Yes they shut the wash clothes section which was cannon-dale they were hand sewn the wash clothes and it’s hard to believe used to load trucks by hand to protect them . Go to dollar stores or WAL mart there China or Vietnam now .

[@EndlessHarmonyTV]

Funny, I was born in Mass like JT and I was actually born in Lowell, Mass which is where these Mills are that JT wrote about. Now like JT Im living in the Carolinas. My next concert is to see JT in greenville, SC, the last show I went to there was Bruce, funny how this video touchs on them all

[@karsten19]

bruce tears this song up and makes it stronger...incredible stuff

[@kindnessfirst9670]

It probably helps his performance that Bruce'd dad lost his hearing working at a rug making mill. And as a small boy Bruce would occasionally deliver his dads lunch to him there.The mill eventually closed down- throwing much of the town out of work. All the money and success in the world that came Bruce's way couldn't give his dad his hearing back. When as a kid you see bad things happen to your parents it never leaves you- ever. His dad also worked as a prison guard and bus driver but had trouble holding on to jobs due to his schizophrenia that was only diagnose much later.

[@martingardner9124]

Saw BOTH him and James Taylor in concert once in the same year.

[@chrismehos5035]

Great cover of an otherwise sleeper by JT

[@danielgeary5215]

Killer, moving version of Taylor channeled through Springsteens voice.

One man, one guitar, one harmonica, can't fake this shit.

[@111kevinkelly]

Too stark, too tragic: the Millworker is not suicidal, she knows that she's just got to get on with it" she's got those three faces to feed

[@kindnessfirst9670]

You're confusing anger with despair.

[@yourturn777]

Agreed. EmmyLou!! As well!!

[@kindnessfirst9670]

@@yourturn777 But can be as different as killing someone else versus killing yourself.

[@musicbyjamesmcgrath]

Eddie vedder does a fantastic cover too

[@olivermoriarty]

Different! As you'd expect from the boss!

[@Thanquol180]

I remember when i fucking hated this performance. Years later I 'get it'

[@20050716]

It's awesome lol

[@walterbrob]

WOW... who would want to follow that.. Mighty Boss

[@MikeKlarich]

Well I guess that's Rock N Roll Mr. Taylor... Love both versions, but one is much more powerful/soulful/poignant/relatable to the working class.

[@modoc63]

I was a millworker in Kansas City for 2 years and it ain't nothing but a boring F$%#$%$ Job!

[@tonydale3182]

It's not very often that one gets to hear The Boss sing a song from a Broadway musical. . .right up there with Jennifer Warnes' version from the television production.

[@FishOfPain]

I like this version... Sounds like he's merged the original "Millworker" with "Goin' Back"...

[@alastairclunie7232]

The boss sings JT don't get any better 🎼

[@dustinmcmullin3115]

Funny. This song is not James Taylor's it from a Broadway play called working.

[@sharonhrosen]

I am a huge Springsteen fan and a huge JT fan, and this version did very little for me. He's not in great voice and overpowers it a bit...but I still love him!

[@rtelles1127]

When i think of Bruce Springsteen i think of songs about the working man . Pretty much the same lyric content as Springsteen's the factory.

[@xtop23]

That was fucking brilliant

[@xtop23]

I cant stop watching this. This is truly fantastic ..... if you don't "get" the sheer poignancy and power of Springsteen's version, I've gotta think that you haven't a soul.

[@20050716]

a lot of jealous wanky muzos don't like Bruce

[@mikethomsen2671]

Wow wow wow

[@ShadowinaCave]

Oh god, this song throbs with the sadness of a wasted life, no matter who sings it. I've gotta be honest and say this is maybe my least favourite of any version I've yet heard, but it still has that ache at its heart. James taylor's amazing.

[@matzac97]

use the youtube converter ;-)

[@williamkane7441]

James Taylor owns this song. Bruce is aight. But JT is the man.

[@bradbradley1121]

they both did very well James is better though Love the harmonica though Good job Bruce

[@BBerckdano]

I always thought the musical break with the harmonica was the daydream she was waiting on.

[@michaelgentils4953]

he did write it. it was for a fairly unsuccessful musical. I agree that Springsteen didn't sell out, although I'm not a big fan of his music anymore. But still, JT wrote this song.

[@SpudWil]

In a celebratory evening of unutterable boredom, this is the only performance that really gives some guts to a great Taylor song. And he has written some fine songs, but also a whole lot of twee, pass-the-lyric-bucket MOR dross. I am not a big Springsteen fan either, but in terms of musical importance he is undoubtedly the superior and more interesting artist.

[@replicas11]

Erm, did you change the lyrics.

[@gymnosophy]

@Mmarksuter right on

[@Otispuss2]

The most idiotic conversation I've ever heard is someone saying that their individual preference is THE best. Fucking stupid. Bruce is amazing. He makes the song his, and it's powerful. JT's version is beautiful, melodic and haunting. They are two completely different ways of expressing and both are excellent. They obviously respect each others' work. It's the losers in the audience that have to put one down in comparison to the other.

[@TheGabrielwalter]

I agree a female voice is called for if it is not. JTs,I love how Emmy Lou Harris sings it.nice try Bruce , but it kinda grated on me.love anyway😌

[@yourturn777]

Finally. Agreed💘