Now here’s a maddening one.
We know that “Something’s Gotta Break” is an original Springsteen song from the Steel Mill era, and we know that the band performed it least twice way back in 1970–because we have surviving recordings of both performances.
But those recordings are sub-par, to say the least. One of them is completely unintelligible, so I’ll spare you by not posting it here. The other is just clear enough–for much of the song, at least–for us to get an idea of what the song is about, but at times, entire sections of the song are completely drowned out by the guitar jams that typically served as the showpiece/centerpiece of most Steel Mill songs.
Take a listen below to (as far as we know) the debut performance of “Something’s Gotta Break,” (taking the time to appreciate 20-year-old Bruce’s guitar chops), and then we’ll do our best to break it down.
See what I mean? The first half is actually pretty easy to track, but when the tempo shifts, all hell breaks loose and I lose the lyrical thread completely. (Let me know if you can make any more of it out, please.)
So let’s look at the first half at least. Special props to the folks at Springsteenlyrics.com for carrying the baton on this one–I’ve made a few corrections in bold where I’m reasonably confident I hear something different.
Hey Ma, won’t you give me a chance
To show you what a son your man is
Now I know that you’re confused, yeah, and so alone
Oh, but that’s a chance that you take
Something’s gotta break
Based on this first verse, “Something’s Gotta Break” sounds like it treads similar ground as “Reason to Believe” will more than a decade later. A son entreats his mother to stay strong and let him help provide for their family. The title phrase is a statement both of faith and desperation–these characters need to hold fast to the notion that something has to change someday, because their current situation seems untenable, as Bruce explains in the next verse:
Hey I know you know just what’s goin’ on
But you say that’s all right, yeah, that’s all right
We’re gonna let everything stay the same
You said it ain’t hell that you’re thinkin’ of and that it don’t matter
But you’re scared that someone might say
Something’s gotta break
Bruce flips the meaning of the title phrase at the end of that verse: here, it becomes a statement of fear rather than faith–fear that even the tenuous grasp on life that mother and son have might be at risk.
And unfortunately, that’s about where my grasp on the clarity of the lyrics starts to disintegrate. I can make out much of the final verse before the tempo changes, enough to posit that Bruce is arguing to enjoy whatever life you have while you have it, but not enough to know where the song is headed.
Gather up your roses before it’s too late
Don’t forget to have everything that you make
By remembering now girl ???
Any excuses you make to your mind, so silently break
I’ll reprint the lyrics as transcribed by Springsteenlyrics below, but honestly I don’t hear them when I listen with my own ears, so you decide for yourself where the song heads from this point on.
Me, I’m just gonna enjoy the guitar jam. I’ll catch up with you afterward.
Where does your mind come from, ah won’t you tell me if it’s for me
If it is then we’ll ??? but ya tell me nothin’s for free
But I remember that once
She left me to make her way from me
Melinda go and sell flowers
Oh how she wants real love
But she thought that she would be alone
Thought that she would be alone
It’s really tough to make out what Bruce and the boys are singing throughout that entire section. If you think you know, please leave a comment and enlighten me.
But for now, since the tempo has slowed down again, let’s pick the narrative back up as Bruce ends close to where he started, with the son encouraging his mother (unless the context shifted somewhere to another woman–it’s a bit unusual to refer to one’s mom as “girl”) to stay true and positive.
You can’t go on living life that way
End them tears that you been cryin’ girl
They don’t wanna drown in them one day
I know you’re disillusioned at the mass hysteria, and ???
Something gotta break
A note about that line in bold: I realize that the Springsteenlyrics transcription (“They are gonna drown a man one day”) makes more sense than my edit. But that particular line of the song is actually very clear to my ears, and while I can’t be 100% sure of my transcription because of it reads strangely (who does the “they” refer to?), I definitely hear “they don’t wanna” instead of “they are gonna,” so I’m sticking with it unless someone with better ears than mine wants to take a crack at it.
Any takers?
Something’s Gotta Break
Never recorded
Never released
First performed: May 23, 1970 (Richmond, VA)
Last performed: June 13, 1970 (Bricktown, NJ)
