Here’s another one from the wayback machine: “Lady Walking Down by the River” is a Springsteen original from 1970, performed twice only (that we know of) with Steel Mill.
Its origins go back even further, however. In April 1969, Bruce published his very first piece of writing– a poem in Ocean County Community College’s literary magazine. The poem was titled “Seascape” (as was the journal itself), and check out the third verse below.
That third verse appears in “Lady Walking Down by the River” in altered form as its second verse:
Young men lovers quench their thirst for sunlight
Wet their tongues in a forestland stream
Bathe in the splendor of their bodies
And they sleep ‘neath the silent trees
As for the rest of the song–let’s just say this one is about the music, not the lyrics–specifically the heavy riff and extended guitar jam that carries us along for most of the song’s ten-plus minutes. Lyrically, the song is just a painted picture.
Bruce performed “Lady Walking Down by the River” with Steel Mill only twice–but that didn’t stop Steel Mill Retro from recording it forty years later. Here’s the only known studio recording–without Bruce, note–of “Lady Walking Down by the River.”
Lady Walking Down by the River
Recorded: N/A
First performed: January 13, 1970 (San Francisco, CA)
Last performed: February 28, 1970 (Richmond, VA)
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