Turn it up!
If you’re only familiar with Southside Johnny’s cover and haven’t heard Bruce’s original version before, turn your stereo way up loud and prepare for a revelation, because this is a very different take:
Bruce wrote “When You Dance” with Steve Van Zandt in 1971 and played it with The Bruce Springsteen Band throughout late 1971 and early 1972.
The version above is from a 1972 rehearsal session recorded at Challenger Eastern Surfboards. The stereo sound quality is amazing, and IMO this is an early gem that belongs in every Springsteen fan’s collection.
Southside Johnny covered “When You Dance” on This Time It’s For Real in 1977, but even though the melody, riff, and hook are recognizable, the lyrics are very different.
SSJ’s version is credited to both Bruce and Steve Van Zandt as songwriters, but it’s not clear if that was always the case or if Bruce gave his version to Steve to adapt. Regardless, both versions deserve to be played loud.
And while the two versions are very different lyrically, they’re also essentially the same: both feature a narrator completely mesmerized by a girl on the dance floor, lost in a reverie and imagining, yearning for, let’s say, a private dance.
Bruce’s version:
When you dance, ah come on mama hold me tight
Make romance, yeah kiss me baby in the night
When you move, oh don’t you know I love you so
When you groove, meet baby I’m on the lights down low
When you love, you know I’ll chase the heavens above
From above, and my body shaking for you love
You’re so wild that I want you for my partner child
When you smile, how you move just right
Southside’s version:
When you dance, I hear the music rocking everywhere
When you dance, I see the light shining through your hair
When you dance, baby, the band is blowing like a hurricane
When you dance, you look so fine but you don’t know my name
When you dance, your smile hiding what you’re thinking of
When you dance, your body tremble like you’re making love
When you move, baby, my soul is aching and my blood run hot
Run into me now, my heart is breaking shaking what you’ve got
Southside’s version has more polished lyrics and a brassier arrangement, but for my ears, Bruce’s guitar jam takes the prize.
There are a few Bruce Springsteen Band performances of “When You Dance” circulating, but if you want to hear Bruce play it with the E Street Band, you’ll have to turn to the Asbury Park All-Star Revue shows from 1977, where Bruce, Steve, the E Street Band, and the Jukes all teamed up to cover for an ailing Southside Johnny. These shows feature the only known performances of “When You Dance” in the E Street Band era.
When You Dance
Never Recorded
First performed: October 23, 1971 (Richmond, VA)
Last performed: May 13, 1977 (Red Bank, NJ)
Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our full index. New entries every week!
