Born to two neuroscientists, Ritter bought his first guitar from the local K-MART after hearing the Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash classic Girl From The North Country. He started at Oberlin College with the intent to follow in his parents' scientist footsteps, but instead discovered songwriting, and the music of artists like Gillian Welch, Townes Van Zandt, and Leonard Cohen. He graduated and then moved east, favoring its close proximity to historic folk clubs such as "Club Passim" in Boston. On a shoestring budget he recorded his critically acclaimed breakthrough album Golden Age of Radio in 2002 at various tiny, one-room studios on the East Coast. He has continued to grow from there, further developing his sound on subsequent albums.
Josh has recorded several records and E.P.s. In chronological order, they are:
Josh Ritter (Self Titled) (2000)
Golden Age of Radio (2001)
Come and Find Me EP (2003)
Hello Starling (2003)
4 Songs Live E.P. (2005)
The Animal Years (2006)
Girl In The War E.P. (2006)
Good Man E.P. (2006)
In The Dark: Live At Vicar Street (2006)
The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter (2007)
Live at the Record Exchange EP (2008)
So Runs the World Away (2010)
To the Yet Unknowing World (2011)
Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Live at The Iveagh Gardens (April 2011)
The Beast In Its Tracks (2013)
Acoustic Live, Vol.1 (2015)
Sermon on the Rocks (2015)
Harrisburg
Josh Ritter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In our Lady of Immaculate Dawn
Could have got married in the revival man's tent
But there ain't no reviving what's gone
Slipped like a shadow from the family he made
In a little white house by the woods
Dropped the kids at the mission, with a rose for the virgin
She knew he was gone for good
It's a long way to Heaven, it's closer to Harrisburg
And that's still a long way from the place where we are
And if evil exists its a pair of train tracks
And the devil is a railroad car
Could have stayed somewhere but the train tracks kept going
And it seems like they always left soon
and the wolves that he ran with they moaned low and painful
sang sad misery's to the moon
Rose at the altar withered and wilted
Romero sank into a dream
He didn't make Heaven, he didn't make Harrisburg
He died in a hole in between
Some say that man is the root of all evil
Others say God's a drunkard for pain
Me I believe that the Garden of Eden
Was burned to make way for a train
The lyrics to Josh Ritter’s song “Harrisburg” are rich with imagery and meaning. The song tells the story of a man named Romero who gets married in the Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Dawn on the fifth of July. While Romero could have gotten married in the revival man’s tent, it is clear that there is nothing left to be revived. After slipping away from his family, Romero drops his children off at the mission with a rose for the virgin. The tragic reality is that she knows he is gone for good.
The lyrics talk about how it is a long way to Heaven and it’s closer to Harrisburg, but that is still a long way away from where they are. Evil is represented by a pair of train tracks, and the devil is a railroad car. The imagery around train tracks and the devil’s railroad car is especially significant in Romero’s story as he seems to be unable to escape it. The song suggests that Romero could have stayed somewhere, but the train tracks kept going, and the wolves he ran with sang sad misery to the moon.
The song ends with the image of Romero sinking into a dream, and he didn’t make it to Heaven or Harrisburg. He died in a hole in between. The lyrics then suggest that some people believe that man is the root of all evil, while others believe that God is a drunkard for pain. However, the songwriter himself believes that the Garden of Eden was burned to make way for a train. This powerful metaphor suggests that the progress represented by trains has come at the cost of destroying something beautiful.
Line by Line Meaning
Romero got married on the fifth of July
Romero got married on the fifth of July
In our Lady of Immaculate Dawn
Romero got married in a church named Our Lady of Immaculate Dawn
Could have got married in the revival man's tent
Romero had an option to get married in a tent that a preacher set up for revival meetings
But there ain't no reviving what's gone
It is impossible to revive something that is already gone
Slipped like a shadow from the family he made
Romero left his family without being noticed
In a little white house by the woods
Romero's family lived in a small white house near the woods
Dropped the kids at the mission, with a rose for the virgin
Romero left his kids at a mission with a rose for the Virgin Mary
She knew he was gone for good
The Virgin Mary knew that Romero had left for good
It's a long way to Heaven, it's closer to Harrisburg
Heaven is very far away, while Harrisburg is a little closer
And that's still a long way from the place where we are
However, Harrisburg is still far away from where we currently are
And if evil exists its a pair of train tracks
The source of evil could be a pair of train tracks
And the devil is a railroad car
The Devil could be a train car
Could have stayed somewhere but the train tracks kept going
Romero could have settled somewhere, but the train tracks kept him moving
And it seems like they always left soon
The train tracks led to places where he couldn't stay for long
and the wolves that he ran with they moaned low and painful
The people Romero associated with were unhappy and mournful
sang sad misery's to the moon
They sang songs of pain and misery to the moon
Rose at the altar withered and wilted
The rose that Romero had given to the Virgin Mary had wilted
Romero sank into a dream
Romero died and passed into a dream state
He didn't make Heaven, he didn't make Harrisburg
Romero didn't go to Heaven, nor did he make it to Harrisburg
He died in a hole in between
Romero died in a place that isn't quite defined
Some say that man is the root of all evil
Some people believe that humans are the source of all evil
Others say God's a drunkard for pain
Others believe that God is responsible for human suffering
Me I believe that the Garden of Eden
In Josh Ritter's opinion, the Garden of Eden
Was burned to make way for a train
was destroyed to build a railway system
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JOSH RITTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve M.O.
I have no idea where I heard this song, but it just pops into my head randomly sometimes, so many years later. It's the definition of "living in my head rent free."
bogota Angela 💍
Revivalist Tents? @#OmarShareef🧘♂️
Jay Stroup
so calm. so sad. so chilling. so beautiful. nothing this man does is bad.
bogota Angela 💍
@#HarpoOon? @#CurlYMaxIne? @#KDaRma @ #LadyMarmalade? @#RoMCom’s ? #L&M ? @#PraireDogs?
FadeCO
This is easily one of the most powerful songs ever.
Theron Hanegan
This always hits a longing in my heart to be on the road again..
Sara Gallagher
The lyrics (and rhythm) of this song are incredible. The historical references are amazing for an Americanist like me.
Adriaan Wessels
Please tell the history for those of us that don't know it.
Nick
Was searching so long for this song! Once heard it in a playlist on Spotify but couldn't remember the name well, only remembered the picture of the bus. Thank you for posting!
geofreak75
I just love this song!