How good is Bruce Springsteen?
So good that he can write three different killer pop songs with the exact same lyrics.
The lines that many of us became familiar with in “Be True” on the Tunnel of Love Express Tour can be found in two other songs as well, and even though the words are the same, when set to different melodies their message is different.
Unlike “Little White Lies,” however, which in retrospect seems like a mere lyrical dalliance (when finally released in 2016, it would sport entirely different lyrics that have more in common with “Stolen Car” and “Brilliant Disguise” than “Be True”), it would be a mistake to dismiss “Mary Lou” as a work in progress. It’s every bit a finished song, and for the life of me I couldn’t tell you which version–“Be True” or “Mary Lou”–I love more. (But I love them both.)
“Mary Lou” not only ranks among the best of Bruce’s lighter songs, it also–along with sister songs “Be True” and “Little White Lies”–offers us a remarkable look at how Bruce creates a song. In fact, so many solo acoustic and full band rehearsal recordings and outtakes exist (about twenty by my count), that it may be one of the most documented and instructive behind-the-scenes peeks in his entire catalog. For that reason (and because I’d otherwise end up analyzing the same lyrics in three different essays), I’m going to save the lyrical analysis for my future “Be True” essay, and focus instead on how “Mary Lou” evolved from a melodic hook to a full-fledged song.
“Mary Lou” is the oldest of the three siblings, and “Be True” is the baby. We can’t pinpoint exactly when Bruce wrote the lyrics that comprise their shared DNA, but we can at least get in the ballpark thanks to a series of cassette tape recordings of Bruce crafting “Mary Lou” in his home studio in Holmdel in the early months of 1979.
In the first recording, we learn that as is often the case with Bruce, he landed on the melody before he ever gave thought to the lyrics. Nothing is recognizable or intelligible here–it’s bluff city–but the melody is recognizably Mary Lou’s:
In the second take, we hear Bruce starting to craft his character. The few non-bluffed verse lyrics won’t last long, but although they’re different than the final ones, they still shape the same character–only here Bruce addresses Mary Lou in the third person rather than the second. The chorus, though, features some familiar lines:
In our third take, the story starts to form, and for the first time Bruce introduces the movie theater backdrop/metaphor:
By Take Four, we’re getting close to the final lyrics. The opening lines are in their final form now, and Bruce is clearly enamored with the cinema metaphor, extending it for all its worth through the song. And while Bruce still grapples with the body of the song, he’s so close to the final lyrics that we almost want to call them out to him:
That’s as far as the acoustic recordings take us. Bruce couldn’t have spent that much more time working on the song, though, because before long he was working on the song in the studio with the E Street Band.
In this series of takes from May 14, 1979, Bruce teaches the song to the band and starts to pull together the pieces. First, we have Clarence working out his solo:
That’s followed by the first band rehearsal (that we can listen to, at least). The vocals are buried in the mix, but we can hear enough to tell that the lyrics are finished. We can also hear Bruce halt the band to show Clarence where he should come in with his solo:
This next take is tighter–the band is increasingly comfortable with the song, and for the first time, we hear the finished ending of the song:
Two days later, the E Street Band does a full run-through, and this time not only are the vocals clearer, the harmonies are added as well:
Exactly two weeks later, on May 30, Bruce and the band recorded what we now know as the finished take. Take a listen to appreciate how it all came together:
What fascinates me the most about “Mary Lou” and “Be True” is how–despite having virtually identical lyrics–the two songs have very different messages. “Be True” sounds more like a “Two Hearts” pep talk than a love song–the focus is on the self-worth of the girl he sings to, and the fact that she’s not named makes the song sound universal. “Mary Lou,” in contrast, sounds more self-serving–the narrator is clearly making an aggressive play, and there’s a note of desperation in his voice more than compassion.
True, there are some minor lyrical differences in the choruses that help differentiate the songs (I’ll discuss them when I write about “Be True”), but the backing track plays a big role here, too: Even this early in his career, Bruce has clearly realized the power of a melody or arrangement to underline or shift the meaning of a song.
Not satisfied enough with “Mary Lou” to release her on the The River, Bruce nevertheless couldn’t bring himself to abandon her story. To see where Bruce took the tale from here, see my write-up on “Little White Lies” and my (someday) entry for “Be True.”
As for “Mary Lou,” she would see the light of day on Tracks, almost two decades after she was recorded.
Mary Lou
Recorded: May 30, 1979
Released: Tracks (1998), The River: Outtakes (2015)
Never performed
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Very interesting process!