The first time you hear Bruce Springsteen’s “Night”… well, it’s kind of like this:
Actually, “Night” is always like insane mode in a Tesla–every single darn time.
We can debate where “Night” ranks among Bruce’s catalog in general, but I’ll argue there’s no better opener for a Springsteen show.
“Night” is a three-minute adrenaline rush start-to-finish, a rock and roll mainline that takes the wheel of your street racer, shoves you into the passenger seat, and tears up the road while you hold on for dear life.
There’s a delicious irony to “Night” as well: for such a ferocious rock song, Bruce’s guitar is arguably the least important element. Garry Tallent is the unsung hero here; “Night” is carried along on the back of his bass.
As for the melody–I laugh every time I realize that’s Roy not just on piano, but also on harpsichord and glockenspiel. Not the sexiest of instruments, but they’re exactly what’s called for here–the headlights the pierce the otherwise dark night.
And of course, there’s Clarence’s clarion solos. If Max’s furious opening barrage is a floored gas pedal, Clarence’s first solo rolls down the windows so we can immediately feel the night air.
In short, “Night” is one of the best examples of the classic E Street Sound.
Then there’s the lyrics:
Get up every morning at the sound of the bell
You get to work late and the boss man’s giving you hell
Till you’re out on a midnight run
Losing your heart to a beautiful one
And it feels right as you lock up the house
Turn out the lights and step out into the night
Just two years later, Bruce would write a very different song that starts virtually the same way but almost immediately diverges:
Early in the morning factory whistle blows
Man rises from bed and puts on his clothes
Man takes his lunch, walks out in the morning light
It’s the working, the working, just the working life
And of course, just a couple of years later, Bruce would mine that theme yet another time:
Put on your best dress baby
And darlin’, fix your hair up right
‘Cause there’s a party, honey
Way down beneath the neon lights
All day you’ve been working that hard line
Now tonight you’re gonna have a good time
“Factory” and “Out on the Street” are far from Bruce’s only songs that focus on or spring from working life, but “Night” is the prototype. In “Factory” Bruce would examine the cost of grueling work; in “Out in the Street” Bruce had found connection and at least had someone to share the night with. But “Night” is a celebration of pure freedom.
Our hero–and he certainly sees himself that way–bristles with power and possibility. His fellow night dwellers are merely potential conquests, romantic and otherwise.
And the world is busting at its seams
And you’re just a prisoner of your dream
Holding on for your life, ’cause you work all day
To blow ’em away in the night
The rat trap’s filled with soul crusaders
The Circuit’s lined and jammed with chromed invaders
And she’s so pretty that you’re lost in the stars
As you jockey your way through the cars
And sit at the light, as it changes to green
You put faith in your machine and off you scream into the night
It’s the “otherwise” that Bruce is pre-occupied with, though. It’s never explicitly stated, but it’s implied that Bruce’s hero draws his confidence and swagger from his car. He’s a legend on the road and a hero in his own mind, but girls are his Achilles heel. He has clarity and resolve in the night, and he knows he’ll lose all that once he sets foot on the pavement. So he subtly transfers his desire from girl to car as the song races toward its bridge.
And you’re in love with all the wonder it brings
And every muscle in your body sings as the highway ignites
You work nine to five and somehow you survive till the night
Well, all day they’re busting you up on the outside
But tonight you’re gonna break on through to the inside
And it’ll be right, it’ll be right, and it’ll be tonight
Only towards the end of the song does our hero let his bravado slip–and even then, only a bit. He’s got no girl and no prospects for one, but he’s got faith that there’s someone out there for him–somewhere. His car and the night give him the resolve to find her, but we get the sense that he knows deep inside that he lacks the courage to take action if he finds her.
And you know she will be waiting there
And you’ll find her somehow you swear
Somewhere tonight, you’ll run sad and free
Until all you can see is the night
He acknowledges his lurking loneliness, admitting that he’s running both “sad and free.” He has his independence, but he’s alone. He has the night, but that’s all he has.
But right here, and right now–that’s enough.
Bruce played “Night” for the first time during his legendary 1975 stand at The Bottom Line in New York City. Born to Run was still a couple of weeks away from being released, so no one had yet heard “Night” in any form. So this audience had no idea what was about to hit them when Bruce modestly introduced a new song:
“Night” remained a reliable setlist staple through the rest of the 1970s, but by the eighties it seemed like Bruce had moved on to more mature working life songs. “Night” made a handful of appearances on the River Tour and a one-off cameo on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour before it disappeared into the… well, you know.
But “Night” is too powerful a song to remain on the shelf, so when Bruce reformed the E Street Band, he brought back his old fan favorite for a couple of outings, including this one–its first outing in fifteen years. Listen to Bruce surprise a hometown crowd by opening his Reunion Show at the Meadowlands with the long-awaited return of “Night.”
But it was on the Rising Tour when Bruce finally brought back “Night” as a semi-regular staple of his set lists, perhaps to balance the heaviness of the Rising material that formed the spine of the tour. Fortunately one fantastic performance was captured professionally for Live in Barcelona.
“Night” has been with us ever since the Rising Tour. It’s far from dependable, but if you see multiple shows on a tour, odds are pretty good you’ll get at least one rendition of it. All told, Bruce has performed “Night” in concert almost 250 times–and he’s almost sure to pass that milestone on the next tour.
That’s a good thing, because “Night” never gets old. It’s a shot of classic E Street that immediately electrifies any show where it appears.
Bonus: “Night” was famously recorded in a single day–May 10, 1975–although it took several takes before the band landed on one Bruce liked. But well before Bruce captured his bolt of lightning in the studio, he’d laid down some demos.
Here’s one of them, from nine months earlier in August 1974:
…and another from April, 1975 just weeks before recording the final version.
Both have minor lyrical differences (including some bluffing in the earlier version) and some minor musical variations as well. But both reveal just how clear Bruce’s vision was for the song almost a year before he officially recorded it in the studio.
Night
Recorded: May 10, 1975
Released: Born to Run (1975)
First performed: August 13, 1975 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: September 3, 2023 (East Rutherford, NJ)
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