Streets of Philadelphia (1994) – Bruce Springsteen

Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen and sister song Philadelphia by Neil Young are from the Jonathan Demme movie of the same name. Bruce Springsteen won best original song at the 1994 Academy Awards while Neil Young was nominated. Both are exemplary ‘atmospheric’ compositions and showcase the unique musical talents of each. Streets of Philadelphia was a huge hit of course and my first encounter with the music from the film.

– Philadelphia (1993) – Neil Young (Observation Blogger)

Today’s featured track Streets of Philadelphia was recorded during August 1993, at Springsteen’s home studio in Beverly Hills, California, after a personal request by Director Jonathan Demme. It was written and performed for the 1993 film Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks, an early mainstream film dealing with HIV/AIDS. The video was shot in December, with Springsteen singing a live vocal, as he walked the streets of Philadelphia.

Streets of Philadelphia won the 66th Oscar Award in 1994 for Best Original Song as well as four Grammys: Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, and Best Song Written for Motion Picture or Television. In the United States, the single peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard, becoming Springsteen’s 12th and latest top-10 hit. It topped the singles charts in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, and Norway.

[Verse 1]
I was bruised and battered, I couldn’t tell what I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
Saw my reflection in a window and didn’t know my own face
Oh, brother, are you gonna leave me wastin’ away

[Chorus]
On the streets of Philadelphia?

[Verse 2]
I walked the avenue ’til my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Just as black and whispering as the rain

[Chorus]
On the streets of Philadelphia

[Post-Chorus]
Ain’t no angel gonna greet me
It’s just you and I, my friend
And my clothes don’t fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles just to slip this skin

[Verse 3]
The night has fallen, I’m lyin’ awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me, brother, with your faithless kiss
Or will we leave each other alone like this
[Chorus]
On the streets of Philadelphia?

The following information includes mainly extracts from the Wikipedia reference at the end of this post:

In early 1993, Philadelphia director Jonathan Demme asked Springsteen to write a song for his film, adding “I want it to play in the malls.” Springsteen replied, “Well, I’m interested, so I’d like to come up with a song for you. If you give me some time, I’ll see, but I can’t promise.” Springsteen recalled adding, “I’m not very good at scores.”

It’s interesting to note here that Bruce Springsteen wrote the title song for the movie – The Wrestler (2008) which I reviewed back in 2022. Springsteen gave them the song for no fee. The song was widely expected to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song where Springsteen would perform it on the awards show, but in what Rolling Stone termed “shocking news”, it was denied a nomination when the Academy nominated only three songs in the category rather than the usual five.

The accompanying music video for Streets of Philadelphia was directed by Jonathan Demme and his nephew Ted Demme in December 1993, and begins by showing Springsteen walking along desolate city streets, followed by a bustling park and schoolyard, interspersed with footage from the film. 

The vocal track for the video was recorded live with a hidden microphone, to a pre-recorded instrumental track. This technique, appropriate for emotionally intense songs for which conventional video lip-syncing would seem especially false. Springsteen initially did this in his 1987 Brilliant Disguise video, singing the song directly into the camera as he sits on the edge of his chair on a Sandy Hook, New Jersey sound stage.

References:
1. Streets of Philadelphia – Wikipedia