Many lost Springsteen gems have escaped from the studio over the years.
A few never even made it inside one.
Case in point: the song we know only as “Go Away (Come Close),” because there are no studio logs or set lists from which we can identify the name Bruce intended to give it
Fans gave it a name based on the few lyrics they think were able to make out from a muddy tape recorded outside of the Capitol Theater in Passaic while Bruce and the E Street Band were rehearsing.
And frankly, I’m not even sure those lyrics are accurate, because my ears don’t hear the words “go away” and “come close” doesn’t seem to be a title phrase. Take a listen and see what you can detect.
We can certainly hear a few snippets correctly here and there–enough to realize this is a song of romantic torment, of two lovers who can’t quite get it together. Heartbreak is one of the few repeated phrases we can make it out, including one clear line of “My heart breaks every time I say your name.”
A minor-key ballad anchored primarily by The Professor and Garry Tallent, “Go Away (Come Close)” features a restrained E Street Band so that Bruce’s anguished vocals can rise above them.
Too bad he’s bluffing much of the time and muddy for much of the rest.
Sometimes we listen to abandoned songs like this and pick out melodies, riffs, or lines that find their way into other songs. No such luck here: apart from a melodic backbone that feels borrowed from the recently released “Streets of Fire,” “Go Away (Come Close)” appears to have been a dead end.
Still, it’s a fascinating artifact from the River era that gives us a peek at Bruce in his tortured romantic mode.
Go Away (Come Close)
Never recorded
Never released
First performed: September 20, 1978 (Passaic, NJ – soundcheck only)
Last performed: September 20, 1978 (Passaic, NJ – soundcheck only)
© September 26, 2026
