Song 12: Youngstown

This song was written in 1995, by Bruce Springsteen, but it reflects an era long before. In the years following the Civil War, the area around the Great Lakes, including the namesake of the song, Youngstown, Ohio, became a great center of industrial production, particularly of steel. Factories dotted the landscape, and the fates of the cities revolved around these factories. Today, however, tells a different story. Many of these cities have shrunk in population, as the factories have declined in importance. Also, environmental concerns, such as pollution of the Cuyahoga River or the Three Mile Island accident caused many of the factories to be shut down.

This song is another that reflects the reliance on a particular industry or situation by a group of people, and then portraying the consequences that arise when that industry is removed or loses importance. It seems to put the idea of progress in a bad light. Songs like this remind us of the situation of many of these Youngstown workers, who lost their jobs and livelihoods when the factories ceased production. Springsteen was not really involved in this situation, but unless you knew better, you wouldn't realize it. He tells the story evocatively, and illustrates vividly the transformation that has taken place over the generations.