While most of the songs were written after September 11, 2001, a few pre-date the attacks. Springsteen got the inspiration for the album a few days after the &lt;a href="9/11%20attacks"&gt;9/11 attacks&lt;/a&gt;, when a stranger in a car stopped next to him, rolled down his window and said: "We need you now." Springsteen also told this story to journalist Mark Binelli in the August 22, 2002 issue of Rolling Stone. The title song tells the story of a firefighter going up in the World Trade Center, while others try to escape, then it evokes the image of peoples' spirits rising up together, through the air like angels, with a "dream of life". "My City of Ruins" was originally performed in, and written about, Asbury Park, New Jersey. After its performance by Springsteen on the post-September 11 ' telethon, however, the song took on an expanded meaning. "Further On (Up the Road)" was performed live in Madison Square Garden during the summer of 2000 at the end of the Springsteen-E Street Reunion Tour, and was professionally recorded, although it was not included in the HBO, DVD, or CD versions of '. "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" was originally written in the early- or mid-1990s and played during at least one soundcheck during the Reunion Tour. Springsteen has commented that "Nothing Man" was originally completed in 1994 but re-recorded for this album. "Worlds Apart," the most experimental song on the album, features a heavy Middle Eastern influence along with Qawwali singers in the introduction. "The Fuse," another experimental track, features a subtle hip hop beat and vocal looping. A re-recorded version of the song, with an orchestral backing, features in the Spike Lee-directed film "25th Hour".