Roll of the Dice: The Brokenhearted

Among the many things I’m grateful to Bruce for: he wears his influences on his sleeve.

Over the years, interviewers have covered most of Bruce’s catalog with him, so there’s a pretty good historical record to draw from when I write these essays. But every once in a while, the dice assign me a relative obscurity and I’m on my own.

But one listen to “The Brokenhearted” tells you pretty much everything you need to know. If Roy Orbison fronting The Drifters doesn’t come immediately to mind, you weren’t paying close attention.

“The Brokenhearted” is a gorgeous torch song and almost certainly an homage to two of Bruce’s influences: his soaring vocals are clearly mimicking Orbison’s style, and the mariachi melody (complete with horns) are evocative of “Spanish Harlem,“which Bruce had performed in concert a few years earlier.

So figuring out what Bruce was going for was the easy part. The hard part is untangling its convoluted history.

The historical record indicates that Bruce first recorded “The Brokenhearted” on November 29, 1977 during the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions. That original recording has never surfaced.

The audio above comes from Bruce’s 2010 double album, The Promise, which is sort of an alternate-universe Darkness on the Edge of Town, comprised entirely of unreleased outtakes from those sessions.

However, the song clearly had some modern work done on it, from the subtle overlay of a horn section to the jarring modern vocals in the coda. Bruce’s 2010 voice is markedly more gruff than his 1977 voice, and the abrupt switchover from Orbison croon to Springsteen growl  is unnerving–it always takes me out of the song.

It’s also hard to know if Bruce edited the song or changed the lyrics when he replaced the ending vocals, because we actually do have a single contemporary artifact for comparison: Bruce and the E Street Band played the song during a rehearsal session in Asbury Park on May 19, 1978. But oddly, the lyrics don’t match up at all with the released version–in fact, most of them sound bluffed. That’s strange, considering the vocal that we listen to today was recorded months prior–so perhaps Bruce hadn’t planned to play it that day and couldn’t remember the lyrics, or perhaps he worked on the song subsequently during sessions that haven’t been documented. Regardless, it’s an unexplained one-off that’s still worth listening to–especially to hear what the coda should have sounded like:

Ah, what I’d give to hear that original tape. But for now at least, we’ll have to stick with the George Lucas special edition.

Well darling, oh won’t you come a little closer
I promise pretty darling, I didn’t know what I was saying
And now I’m praying that you won’t say it’s over
Come here pretty baby and rest your head upon my shoulder
Just one kiss and we started
Now don’t leave me to the brokenhearted, the brokenhearted, the brokenhearted
And tell me that you need me

Lyrically, “The Brokenhearted” is well-trod Springsteenian territory: from classics like “Fade Away” and “Back in Your Arms” to unreleased outtakes like “Baby Come Back,” this is an “I done you wrong baby, I’m down on my knees baby, please take me back baby” song–and it’s clear from the first verse that this time at least, it was the protagonist’s big mouth that put him in the doghouse, rather than his actions.

The singer is relatively even-keeled here, using plain language unadorned of any metaphor, conveying that he doesn’t yet realize how much deep water he’s in. Bruce establishes a neat device, adding a stem to the chorus (“and tell me that you need me”) that will grow with each chorus, signifying the singer’s increasing desperation.

Well now baby, the lonely nights keep growing longer
And my love for you just keeps growing stronger
Like a wheel of chance so endlessly turning
My fate lay in your hands, my heart forever burning
In a sweet fire your kiss started
Now don’t leave me to the brokenhearted, the brokenhearted, the brokenhearted
And tell me that you love me
Tell me that you want me, girl

See how Bruce introduces metaphor here? The wheel of chance, the burning heart, the sweet fire of his love’s kiss–he’s getting a bit worked up now, and the double-stemmed chorus launches into an apology bridge:

The cruel mistakes I’ve made, the hard price that I’ve paid
For the good times and for laughter
Girl, I should’ve known for the indifference that I’ve shown
I’d pay forever after

Now Bruce brings it home, begging her to recognize that he’s aware of his mistakes and owning up to them–hoping against hope that she wants to give him another chance.

And darling, now all I’m trying to say is passion
And love, they have a way of slipping into blackness
Uncared for of slipping away
The deck is cut, the cards turned, the hand is played
And all we ever hope for burns to ashes and drifts away
Now don’t let our love slip into this darkness
Don’t leave me to the brokenhearted, the brokenhearted, the brokenhearted
And tell me that you love me
Tell me that you need me
Tell me that you love me
Tell me that you want me
Tell me that you need me
Tell me that you want me
Tell me that you love me
Yeah tell me that you love me
Tell me that you love me
Tell me that you want me
And come on now daring
Say it right now baby
Say it right now darling
Tell me that you love me

That extended coda makes the song, fading to black on Bruce’s incessant but fruitless pleading.  Which is why it maddens me that Bruce tinkered with it before releasing it on The Promise. What should be tragic tale of an indifferent lover gone one step too far suddenly feels like a brand new singer takes over the song.

Also: scroll back up and listen to the coda in the rehearsal version again. In that version, Bruce cries over and over again: “Baby it hurts!” — a much more pathetic outro. It strikes me as odd that Bruce would mis-remember that part while performing it (even in rehearsal), which makes me strongly suspect that the reason Bruce replaced the coda vocals wasn’t because they didn’t exist, or due to some flaw in the recording–I think he just didn’t like the way the narrator came across as pathetic rather than desperate.

I actually don’t take issue with that assessment–in fact, I agree with it. The modern coda is much better lyrically. I just don’t think the trade-off was worth it. It’s the Springsteen equivalent of “Han shot first” — it may be more in keeping with the author’s notion of the character, but it’s awfully distracting every time we encounter that moment.

It’s hard to know how Bruce ultimately feels about “The Brokenhearted,” because so far, he’s only played it once in concert, during a promotional show in 2010 for the release of The Promise. It’s on my chase list, though–I’d love to hear it performed intact.

The Brokenhearted
Recorded: November 29, 1977 (plus additional work in 2010)
Released: The Promise (2010)
First performed: December 7, 2010 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: December 7, 2010 (Asbury Park, NJ)

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