The New Timer
Encyclopedia
"New Timer" is a song by Bruce Springsteen
from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad
. Springsteen performs the song solo on the album, with only guitar accompaniment.
The narrator of the song is a man who has left behind a wife and children in Pennsylvania
in order to find work, but ends up becoming a hobo, riding on freight trains. He tells of an older man, Frank, who has been riding the rails since the Great Depression
and serves as a protector and mentor to the narrator. They eventually part ways, and the narrator never sees Frank again except for one night when Frank passed him on a rail car, shouted the narrator's name, and then "disappeared into the rain and wind." Eventually Frank is found dead, killed for no apparent reason, just "somebody killin' just to kill." Afterwards, the narrator daydreams about the family he left behind and prays for love and mercy, although his heart is filled with hatred and longing for vengeance.
"New Timer" and another song from The Ghost of Tom Joad
, "Youngstown
," were inspired by Springsteen reading Dale Maharidge
's 1985 book Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass, illustrated by Michael Williamson. The narrator is the "new timer," defined by Maharidge as a "new breed of street person, forced to the bottom by economic hardship. Unlike older hobos, they had once been members of the middle class
, making their circumstances particularly painful. The 1996 reprint of Journey to Nowhere included an introduction by Springsteen and the lyrics of his "The New Timer" and "Youngstown." Another influence on the song was the real life story of Thomas Jefferson "Alabama" Glenn, who became a hobo after the Great Depression. Glenn and two others were killed one night for no apparent reason at all, like Frank in the song. Yet another influence was the rambling 1930s and 1940s songs of Woody Guthrie
.
"The New Timer" has a similar tone and melody as Springsteen's earlier song "Nebraska
". Both songs tell stories of needless violence. In "Nebraska" the narrator is a killer who states that he kills because "there's just a meanness in this world. In "The New Timer", Frank is killed by "somebody killin' just to kill."
Among the transient jobs the narrator sings that he and Frank took was picking peaches. This appears to be a nod to one of the jobs the Joads took in John Steinbeck
's novel The Grapes of Wrath
, which inspired the title (and the title song
) of the album "The New Timer" comes from.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad
The Ghost of Tom Joad
The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1995 . The album was recorded and mixed at Thrill Hill during the spring and summer of 1995. Musically and lyrically reminiscent of Springsteen's 1982 critically acclaimed album Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad...
. Springsteen performs the song solo on the album, with only guitar accompaniment.
The narrator of the song is a man who has left behind a wife and children in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in order to find work, but ends up becoming a hobo, riding on freight trains. He tells of an older man, Frank, who has been riding the rails since the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and serves as a protector and mentor to the narrator. They eventually part ways, and the narrator never sees Frank again except for one night when Frank passed him on a rail car, shouted the narrator's name, and then "disappeared into the rain and wind." Eventually Frank is found dead, killed for no apparent reason, just "somebody killin' just to kill." Afterwards, the narrator daydreams about the family he left behind and prays for love and mercy, although his heart is filled with hatred and longing for vengeance.
"New Timer" and another song from The Ghost of Tom Joad
The Ghost of Tom Joad
The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1995 . The album was recorded and mixed at Thrill Hill during the spring and summer of 1995. Musically and lyrically reminiscent of Springsteen's 1982 critically acclaimed album Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad...
, "Youngstown
Youngstown (song)
"Youngstown" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. Although many of the songs on the album were performed by Springsteen solo, the lineup for the "Youngstown" includes Soozie Tyrell on violin, Jim Hanson on bass, Gary Mallaber on drums, co-producer Chuck Plotkin...
," were inspired by Springsteen reading Dale Maharidge
Dale Maharidge
Dale Maharidge is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist best known for his collaborations with photographer Michael Williamson....
's 1985 book Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass, illustrated by Michael Williamson. The narrator is the "new timer," defined by Maharidge as a "new breed of street person, forced to the bottom by economic hardship. Unlike older hobos, they had once been members of the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
, making their circumstances particularly painful. The 1996 reprint of Journey to Nowhere included an introduction by Springsteen and the lyrics of his "The New Timer" and "Youngstown." Another influence on the song was the real life story of Thomas Jefferson "Alabama" Glenn, who became a hobo after the Great Depression. Glenn and two others were killed one night for no apparent reason at all, like Frank in the song. Yet another influence was the rambling 1930s and 1940s songs of Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
.
"The New Timer" has a similar tone and melody as Springsteen's earlier song "Nebraska
Nebraska (song)
"Nebraska" is a song by Bruce Springsteen and the title song of his 1982 album Nebraska. The song sets the tone for the album, whose content consists mostly of songs about criminals and desperate people, accompanied by just guitar and harmonica...
". Both songs tell stories of needless violence. In "Nebraska" the narrator is a killer who states that he kills because "there's just a meanness in this world. In "The New Timer", Frank is killed by "somebody killin' just to kill."
Among the transient jobs the narrator sings that he and Frank took was picking peaches. This appears to be a nod to one of the jobs the Joads took in John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's novel The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962....
, which inspired the title (and the title song
The Ghost of Tom Joad
The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1995 . The album was recorded and mixed at Thrill Hill during the spring and summer of 1995. Musically and lyrically reminiscent of Springsteen's 1982 critically acclaimed album Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad...
) of the album "The New Timer" comes from.