Darkness on the Edge of Town (song)
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"Darkness on the Edge of Town" is the last song on the 1978 album of the same name, ''
Darkness on the Edge of Town ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' is the fourth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album marked the end of a three-year gap between albums brought on by contractua ...
'', by
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
. It was the last song recorded and mixed, and in April 1978 was designated the title song. A thematic album whose songs portray the struggles of the less-fortunate, not only to survive, but to keep their spirit and will to live alive, the title track portrays a hard-luck loser in life who refuses to give up. Springsteen's fourth album, released three years after his 1975 effort '' Born to Run'', was delayed two years because of legal problems with his former manager,
Mike Appel Mike Appel (born October 27, 1942)Eliot and Appel, ''Down Thunder Road'', p. 45. is an American music industry manager and record producer, best known for his role in both capacities in the early career of Bruce Springsteen. Appel was born in Fl ...
. Expectations were high after he took one year to complete the album.


Background

"Darkness on the Edge of Town" ("Darkness") is the story of a hard-luck loser, who keeps his spirit alive through street racing on the Edge. In his world, "no one asks any questions, or looks too long in your face". He describes his desperation, "some folks are born into a good life, other folks get it anyway anyhow, I lost my money and I lost my wife, them things don't seem to matter much to me now", and then what he plans to do about it. "Tonight I'll be on that hill 'cause I can't stop, I'll be on that hill with everything I got, where lives are on the line and dreams are found and lost, I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost, for wanting things that can only be found in the darkness on the edge of town". "Darkness on the Edge of Town" was conceived in early 1976, shortly after the Born to Run tour ended. Indeed, the title can be found in two lists of songs that were penned sometime in 1976, with rumors that band rehearsals during 1976 at Bruce's home at Holmdel, NJ included versions of "Darkness On The Edge Of Town". With music and some lyrics written by February 1976, the song was subtitled "The Racer" for a time. However, its lyrics were not completed as of June 1, 1977, the first day of the ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' recording sessions. Bruce and the E Street Band worked on the song for five days in June 1977, then set it aside, incomplete, for the rest of the year. On March 8, 1978, over two months after the sessions were completed, Springsteen called in his band, and a new version of "Darkness" was recorded from scratch, completed on March 10, and mixed on March 30, just in time to make it on the album as the closing track. The album was released on June 2, 1978. It is thought possible that Springsteen was working on "Darkness" all along, during the nine months that passed, and came up with the words at the last moment, which he did twice on ''Born to Run'', with "
Backstreets "Backstreets" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from the album ''Born to Run'', which was released in 1975. In the original vinyl release, it concludes side one of the record. Structure "Backstreets" begins with a minute-long instrumental introduc ...
" and "She's the One".


Release

''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' designated the song at number 8 on a list of the 100 greatest Bruce Springsteen songs. Though not released as a single, it was included on many live albums and on the compilations ''
The Essential Bruce Springsteen ''The Essential Bruce Springsteen'' is a compilation album by Bruce Springsteen, released on November 11, 2003. The collection is part of a series of ''Essential'' sets released by Sony BMG (previously Sony Music Entertainment). It includes songs ...
'' (2003) and '' Greatest Hits'' (2009). The song makes several apparent references to locations in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, as it mentions "Abram's bridge" ( Abraham Lincoln Bridge) and "Fairview" (Fairview Street in Louisville), although this has never been verified. The song is also one of Springsteen's most popular concert songs (13th most played song).


Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: *
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
– vocals, guitars *
Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synthe ...
– piano *
Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several s ...
– tambourine *
Danny Federici Daniel Paul Federici (January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008) was an American musician, best known as the organ, glockenspiel, and accordion player and a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. In 2014, Federici was posthumously induct ...
– organ, glockenspiel * Garry Tallent – bass * Steven Van Zandt – guitar *
Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' a ...
– drums


References

{{authority control Bruce Springsteen songs Songs written by Bruce Springsteen 1978 songs Song recordings produced by Jon Landau Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen