It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his debut album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." in 1973. It is about a young man growing up on the streets of a city, and who is trying to stay good and do what he believes is right. Unfortunately, he is inexorably dragged into some very unsaintly activities. A 1975 live version can be found on the DVD of the Hammersmith Odeon concert that is included in the "Born to Run" (30th
Asbury Park, New Jersey a number of grand hotels were built, including the Plaza Hotel. Uriah White, an Asbury Park pioneer, installed the first artesian well water system. As many as 600,000 people a year vacationed in Asbury Park during the summer season in the early years, riding the New York and Long Branch Railroad from New York City and Philadelphia to enjoy the mile-and-a-quarter stretch of oceanfront Asbury Park. By 1912, "The New York Times" estimated that the summer population could reach 200,000. The "country by the sea" destination experienced several key periods of popularity. The first notable era was the 1890s, marked