In 1984 Hornsby formed Bruce Hornsby & the Range, who were signed to RCA Records in 1985. Besides Hornsby, Range members were David Mansfield (guitar, mandolin, violin), George Marinelli (guitars and backing vocals), Joe Puerta (bass guitar and backing vocals), and John Molo (drums).
During the 1990s he toured with the Grateful Dead, and released four albums, including A Night on the Town (1990) after which he split from The Range. Harbor Lights (1993) was his first solo album and signaled Hornsby was moving in a new jazz-influenced direction, whilst retaining elements of rock and pop. Later releases include Hot House (1995) and Spirit Trail (1998).
His experimental album Big Swing Face (2002) attracted much criticism as it veered away from his piano-based style. Despite these criticisms, he returned with his next studio album, shrugging off RCA and signing to Sony Music Entertainment. Halcyon Days, released in 2004, saw a return to the piano as the key instrument; this album also became the premise for his world tour the same year.
Hornsby continues to tour with his live band "The Noisemakers", in addition to solo shows and his progressive bluegrass performances with Ricky Skaggs.
In 2007 he released Camp Meeting, his first total jazz album as The Bruce Hornsby Trio, which involved jazz giants, Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride with whom he made live appearances with throughout 2007.
In March 2007 Hornsby teamed with bluegrass player Ricky Skaggs to produce a bluegrass album, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, and played several tour dates together. The seeds for the album had been sown in 2000 when the pair collaborated on "Darlin' Cory", a track on the Big Mon Bill Monroe bluegrass tribute album and then proposed recording an album together. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, featuring the duo backed by Skaggs's band Kentucky Thunder, combined bluegrass, traditional country, "a tinge of Hornsby's jazzy piano and a splash of humor" on a spectrum of songs from the traditional to new compositions such as the opening track "The Dreaded Spoon," "a humorous tale of a youthful ice cream heist. The pair also reinvented Hornsby's hit "Mandolin Rain" as a minor key acoustic ballad and "give his cautionary tale of backwoods violence", "A Night On the Town," a treatment highlighting the "Appalachian storytelling tradition that was always at the song's heart. The album ended with a surprise cover of Rick James's funk hit "Super Freak" in a bluegrass arrangement. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby topped Billboard's bluegrass charts for several weeks. The album showed Hornsby carving out a place for piano within traditional bluegrass, disproving the notion that the piano is not compatible with "string-oriented" bluegrass.
Concurrently with the bluegrass project, Hornsby recorded a jazz album, Camp Meeting. with Christian McBride (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums). Alongside original compositions by Hornsby, the trio delivered "newly reharmonized versions" of tunes by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, a previously unrecorded Ornette Coleman work ("Questions and Answers") and an early Keith Jarrett composition ("Death and the Flower.") The trio made a series of appearances in the summer of 2007, including the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival and at the Hollywood Bowl.
On January 4, 2007, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart reunited along with Hornsby, Mike Gordon (of Phish and the Rhythm Devils) and Warren Haynes to play two sets. including Dead classics, at a post-inauguration fundraising party for Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House in the United States Congress.
Hornsby wrote songs for a Broadway Musical, titled "SCKBSTD"; one song from this project, a playful biographical tune about real-estate tycoon Donald Trump titled "The Don of Dons," made several appearances in setlists during his early-2007 solo piano performances. He also composed the score for Spike Lee's ESPN documentary, Kobe Doin' Work, about NBA star Kobe Bryant and his MVP season.
Outside of music composition and performance, Hornsby has taken an ownership interest in Williamsburg area radio station "The Tide," WTYD 92.3 FM, and he has endowed the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program at University of Miami's Frost School of Music, encouraging the study of songwriting broadly across traditional genres. Hornsby played himself in a cameo role in the Robin Williams movie World's Greatest Dad, in which Williams' character is a Bruce Hornsby fan.
He has also been honored by piano makers Steinway & Sons with their Limited Edition Signature Piano Series. Hornsby selected ten Model B Steinway Grands to be featured in this collection, each one personalized with his signature. Hornsby owns three 9-foot Model D Steinway Grands himself.
Across The River
Bruce Hornsby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thirty-five weeks ago today
Oh down the lane
At night she walks on the banks
And remembers how she dreamed of rowing away
And how she left one day
She left with a driven look in her eyes
Came back around with it still inside
We know they always do
Well I know
Some fine day
You will find your way across the river
Across the river
Row down slow
And there's a long way to go
Across the river
Across the river
She was proud and so strong
But she tried not to listen to idle talk
Downtown where she walked
Well, they sit around and they say
That she came back with her tail between her legs
Like they always said she would
Well I hear it's better on the other side
They say you'll never do it so don't even try
Well you may be beaten down with your closed mind
But don't try and make it mine
Well I know
Some fine day
You will find your way across the river
Across the river
Row down slow
And there's a long way to go
Across the river
Across the river
Your wild days are through is what they said
I dreamed she came, when I was down
And I walked where she led
Standing on the shore
She looks to the west with a look of longing
Where the grass seems greener
But there's a hard and distant prize
It probably won't happen but I think I'll try
Well even if it doesn't happen for me
It still beats hanging 'bout here
Well I know
Some fine day
You will find your way across the river
Across the river
Row down slow
And there's a long long way to go
Across the river
Across the river
River
Won't cross the river
Across the river
Across the river
Long long way
Across the river
Across the river
"Across The River" is a song by Bruce Hornsby & the Range, released in 1988, which tells the story of a woman who returned to her hometown after leaving to chase her dreams. The song begins with the description of the woman's return thirty-five weeks ago, and how she walks at night on the banks of the river, remembering how she dreamed of rowing away. The lyrics suggest that the singer is haunted by her decision, but she is still determined to try to make her way across the river despite the risks involved.
The second verse describes how people in town reacted to her return, suggesting that they are not supportive of her dreams and ambitions. They expect her to fail, and they criticize her for returning home with her "tail between her legs." However, the chorus offers a message of hope, telling the listener that they will one day find their way across the river. Hornsby encourages the listener not to listen to naysayers and to keep pursuing their dreams, even if they are beaten down or discouraged by others.
The final verse finds the singer standing on the shore, looking to the west with a "look of longing" as she contemplates the distant prize of her ultimate goal. Even though it may not happen for her, she declares that trying is still better than hanging around in her hometown. The song ends with the repetition of the phrase "across the river" and the reminder that it's a long, long way to go.
Line by Line Meaning
Then she moved back around here
A girl returned to the place that she left
Thirty-five weeks ago today
She returned 35 weeks ago
Oh down the lane
She resided down the street
At night she walks on the banks
She often walked next to the river
And remembers how she dreamed of rowing away
She recollects wanting to leave everything behind
And how she left one day
She departed one day
She left with a driven look in her eyes
She left with a determined expression
Came back around with it still inside
She eventually returned with the same determination she left with
They said give it some time and you'll forget about it too
Others told her to wait it out and forget about her ambitions
We know they always do
Those people often gave up on their goals
Well I know
The singer is certain of something
Some fine day
One day in the future
You will find your way across the river
She will make it across the river
Across the river
Crossing the river is the significant objective
Row down slow
Take the journey gradually and steadily
And there's a long way to go
The journey ahead is long
She was proud and so strong
The girl was confident and resilient
But she tried not to listen to idle talk
She ignored the gossip
Downtown where she walked
She walked around the town's center
Well, they sit around and they say
People commonly talk about her in her absence
That she came back with her tail between her legs
That she returned defeated and embarrassed
Like they always said she would
People anticipated her failure
Well I hear it's better on the other side
The other side of the river is supposedly a better place
They say you'll never do it so don't even try
People discouraged her from attempting to reach the other side.
Well you may be beaten down with your closed mind
People may push you down with their unenlightened attitude
But don't try and make it mine
The singer is not troubled by such opinions
Your wild days are through is what they said
Others told her to stop chasing her dreams
I dreamed she came, when I was down
The singer imagined her return when he was feeling low
And I walked where she led
The singer followed her
Standing on the shore
Observing from the river bank
She looks to the west with a look of longing
She gazes wistfully towards the setting sun
Where the grass seems greener
The other side appears to be more perfect
But there's a hard and distant prize
The path to it is difficult and far
It probably won't happen but I think I'll try
She is uncertain about the outcome but will take the chance anyway
Well even if it doesn't happen for me
Even if she fails to cross the river
It still beats hanging 'bout here
It still beats remaining here and doing nothing
River
The water body, River
Won't cross the river
The River is an obstacle to overcome.
Long long way
The journey is longer than initially predicted
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bruce Hornsby, Jonathan Hornsby
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@shanehunsinger2609
I have always loved Bruce Hornsby's music. But, this song has a special meaning to me. At the time this album was released, I was living in southern Indiana, about 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky. Anyone who knows this area will tell you that this particular section of the Ohio River that separates Indiana from Kentucky is one of the most fierce, yet awe-inspiring in it's existence. The width of the river itself is nearly a mile, so whenever you had to cross there were several reinforced bridges that connected both sides. One day, I was riding with my Dad back from a specialists appointment in Louisville, and this song came on the radio. Just as we began our trek across the bridge, the chorus kicked in. I sat there and looked out across the water and for the first time, saw it's beauty and power and found myself wiping away the tears. To this day, I hear this song, and I smile because it takes me back to a much simpler and innocent time. Thus, the power of music.
@lobatoulr7154
....beautiful coment 💕
@leonard530
@ Loboto ULR, I too do agree with your comment !
@nobodysbaby5048
For every small town girl that wanted a different life ...
@birdieloo6168
From your really moving comment it sounds like one of those times I just see something, not for the first time, but in a special way where I’m just in awe of the majesty of creation. It brings tears to my eyes too because it’s such a powerful and overwhelming feeling. It’s beautiful.
@v.dargain1678
Well said . But you gotta visit the Great Lakes if you want to see the awesome rivers connected to them .
@bileg_sado
Think I’m his only fan from 🇲🇳 Mongolia. First listened Bruce Hornsby in 80s last century via short wave radio. Very bad quality interrupted by this time Soviets’ radio scramblers but was captivated by the musician and his songs. Now in my 60s still listening to this great music. Thank you very much, Sir Bruce!
@ReconMarine-lv2kj
The most underrated song of Bruce Hornsby. I love it!
@zciliyafilms5508
Absolutely, a hidden masterpiece.
@user-yp4xb3dc6g
But did it nominate in The Grammy Awards?