Dropkick Murphys ( The ) - Rose Tattoo

First performance: 29/05/2020

Coverinfo

Bruce performed the song 'live' only once:
 
2020-05-29 Fenway Park, Boston, MA

Due to the Corona crisisis, The Dropkick Murphys perform  "Streaming Outta Fenway", a live stream event performed on the Fenway diamond for a completely empty park. The concert is be streamed on the band's Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch pages. Bruce Springsteen joins them remotely for a special "double play" of "Rose Tattoo" and "American Land". 
 
 
 
 
  

Songinfo

Rose Tattoo is a song written by Al Barr, Tim Brennan, Ken Casey, Jeff DaRosa, Matt Kelly, and James Lynch, and released by the Dropkick Murphys first on their 2013 album Signed And Sealed In Blood. The song was re-recorded in May 2013 with Bruce Springsteen on guest vocals and released on an exclusive iTunes download four-song charity EP with all proceeds going to victims of the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. On 28 Apr 2013, the Dropkick Murphys performed a benefit concert for the Boston Marathon bombings victims at House of Blues Boston. From the stage, frontman Ken Casey announced live that the band will re-release Ros Tattoo, re-recorded with Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen was at the time on tour in Europe with the E Street band. Guitarist James Lynch told Backstreets, "Bruce actually called us up the day of the bombing and asked what he could do to help. We didn't have to reach out. He was there for us." Ken Casey added, "As soon as we figured out what we were going to do, Bruce went into the studio, recorded his parts and nailed them right away."
 
 
 

Other cover versions

Bruce on the artist

The Dropkick Murphys first met Bruce Springsteen in 2005 or 2006 when he attended a gig of theirs in New York:
 
"He came back afterwards and introduced himself," Ken Casey told Rolling Stone. "We were just blown away, but we really hit it off. He's since invited us to play with him a few times." During their Working On A Dream Tour, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band played the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, MA, on 22 Apr 2009. They were joined onstage by the Dropkick Murphys on Glory Days and American land. Then the band's guitarist, Tim Brennan, proposed onstage down on bended knee to his girlfriend Diana. Springsteen then dedicated the tour premiere of So young and in love to the couple, saying that "this was going to be their wedding song." Springsteen appears on two Dropkick Murphys studio tracks: Peg O' My heart in 2011 and Rose Tattoo in 2013. Ken Casey is a lifelong Springsteen fan, and his favorite Springsteen album is Darkness On The Edge Of Town. The Dropkick Murphys have covered Badlands live and Casey has said that the band wouldn't say no to recording an entire album as Bruce Springsteen's backing band. "Bruce, we're ready when you are," Casey told Rolling Stone.
 

Lyrics

The pictures tell the story
This life had many shades
I'd wake up every morning and before I'd start each day
I'd take a drag from last nights cigarette
That smoldered in its tray
Down a little something and then be on my way

I traveled far and wide
And laid this head in many ports
I was guided by a compass
I saw beauty to the north
I drew the tales of many lives
And wore the faces of my own
I had these memories all around me
So I wouldn't be alone

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue
I ain't winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

This ones for the mighty sea
Mischief, gold and piracy
This ones for the man that raised me
Taught me sacrifice and bravery
This ones for our favorite game
Black and gold, we wave the flag
This ones for my family name
With pride I wear it to the grave

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue
I ain't winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here,
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

This one means the most to me
It stays here for eternity
A ship that always stays the course
An anchor for my every choice
A rose that shines down from above
I signed and sealed these words in blood
I heard them once, sung in a song
It played again and we sang along

You'll always be here with me
Even if you're gone
You'll always have my love
Our memory will live on

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue
I ain't winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I've got your name written here

In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here,
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
With pride I'll wear it to the grave for you
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here,
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
Signed and sealed in blood I would die for you