Ben Tibbetts Studio: Piano Performances and Original Music

Ben Tibbetts Studio Home Services Archive Students About Contact Now Store Subscribe

The Rising

Download sheet music (pdf)

The month of August 2022 started out on a sad note, with the loss of a friend. My old buddy Adam Zibura passed away on August 4 at the age of thirty-three.

Adam was awesome. He was one of the most altruistic, self-sacrificing people I ever met. It was awful to lose him at what felt like too early an age. I was looking forward to many more years of his company.

I flew up to Maine to attend his funeral on August 10, and made a piano arrangement to perform at the event. The song I arranged was "The Rising", by Bruce Springsteen.

"The Rising" can be interpreted a few different ways. I hear it as an ode to service-men and -women, as well as an encouragement to people struggling through difficult times.

I thought that was appropriate for Adam. He was a volunteer firefighter and he worked as a 911 dispatcher. He believed in serving his community. It meant a lot to him.

The sheet music for this piano arrangement is available for free; just follow the link above.

Lyrics
(from the song by Bruce Springsteen)

[Verse 1]
Can't see nothing in front of me
Can't see nothing coming up behind
Make my way through this darkness
I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me
Lost track of how far I've gone
How far I've gone, how high I've climbed
On my back's a sixty pound stone
On my shoulder, a half-mile line

[Chorus]
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

[Verse 2]
Left the house this morning
Bells were ringing and filled the air
I was wearing the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire, I come rolling down here

[Chorus]
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

[Bridge]
There's spirits above and behind me
Faces gone black, eyes burning bright
May their precious blood bind me
Lord, as I stand before your fiery light

[Verse 3]
I see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighs
There's holy pictures of our children
Dancing in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancing on the end of the line

[Bridge]
Sky of blackness and sorrow (A dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (A dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (A dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (A dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (A dream of life)
Your burning wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (A dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (A dream of life)

[Chorus]
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight

Ben Tibbetts Studio Home Services Archive Students About Contact Now Store Subscribe