In early 1979, Bruce had a vision for a song.
He didn’t have much in the way of lyrics yet, but he had a hook, a theme, and a basic melody. (And if you listen closely to this home demo recording, you’ll hear him note that the song calls for a “Bennie and the Jets-type rhythm.”
It might seem like nothing every came of “Baby Don’t Go,” but listen again–there’s something vaguely familiar about the feel of the song, and the few lines that aren’t bluffed seem like they share some DNA with one of Bruce’s contemporary songs as well.
Compare:
Now maybe I’m not the kind of man who you want
Maybe I can’t deliver to you all the things you so desire
with:
Well now you say you’ve found another man who does things to you that I can’t
Did “Baby Don’t Go” ultimately lead Bruce to “Fade Away?” I can’t say with conviction, but there are certainly some similarities, and Bruce’s first take of “Fade Away” came shortly after his last recorded attempt at “Baby Don’t Go” (this time with a more up-tempo accompaniment).
Early ancestor or not, “Baby Don’t Go” is at least a fascinating inside look at the songwriting process that would shortly lead Bruce to some of his best River-era songs.
Baby Don’t Go
Recorded: March-April 1979 (demo)
Never released
Never performed
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