Song · Bruce Springsteen
“Working On A Dream” by Bruce Springsteen
From the album Working on a Dream (2008)
“Working On A Dream” by Bruce Springsteen appears on 9 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2008 and 2013. It was first released in 2008 on the album Working on a Dream. Its best result is #16 on the WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2009. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #56 indie & aaa song of 2009, #4,455 indie & aaa song of all time and #78 of the '00s.
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Bruce Springsteen named his 16th studio album after "Working on a Dream" and sent the song out as its first single late in 2008, and it's about as sunny as he gets: a mid-tempo reach for hope that Rolling Stone heard as a rare, well-timed burst of optimism, possibly tuned to Barack Obama's incoming administration. The title line comes around some 20 times, in the verses and the chorus alike, like a man talking himself into it.
Brendan O'Brien produced and mixed it with a glossy hand. Acoustic guitar pushes it along, Roy Bittan and Danny Federici's organ and the electric guitars wash through, la-la backing vocals sit half-sunk in the mix, and in the break Springsteen whistles against Clarence Clemons' baritone sax. It won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 87 | Lightning 100 Nashville, TN | Lightning 100 Top 100 Songs of 2008 | 100 |
| 2009 | 16 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2009 | 107 |
| 2009 | 18 | WXPN Philadelphia, PA | WXPN Year in Review: Top 100 Songs of 2009 | 100 |
| 2009 | 37 | 106.1 The Corner Charlottesville, VA | 106.1 The Corner Top 106 Songs of 2009 | 106 |
| 2009 | 89 | WRSI 93.9 The River Northampton / Pioneer Valley, MA | WRSI Top 93 Songs of 2009 | 93 |
| 2009 | 86 | WTMD Baltimore, MD | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2009 | 89 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 567 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade | 913 |
| 2009 | 371 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Essential Songs | 913 |
| 2013 | 521 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) | 885 |
Also listed as: Working on a Dream; Working On a Dream.
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