“Darkness, Darkness” never got anywhere close to being a hit for The Youngbloods. Even though the band released it as a single twice (once in 1969 and then again the following year), it took the second attempt for it to even crack the Top 100.
That didn’t stop Jesse Colin Young’s anti-war song from inspiring a host of covers over the years from Robert Plant, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Eric Burdon, Cowboy Junkies, and more.
It also influenced a very young Bruce Springsteen, who added the song to his set lists for several shows during his pre-label Bruce Springsteen Band era.
It’s not surprising that “Darkness, Darkness” resonated with Bruce. With lyrics describing the nighttime terrors of a soldier in Vietnam, the song must have hit close to home for Bruce, who had already lost a bandmate and a local hero to the war.
But it’s a little bit surprising that Bruce chose to arrange “Darkness, Darkness” as a twelve-minute instrumental jam rather than include its lyrics.
Why’d he do that? Beats me, but the Bruce Springsteen Band still manages to communicate the narrator’s dread and horror even without the lyrics.
Even then, they were that good.
Darkness, Darkness
First performed: July 10, 1971 (Lincroft, NJ)
Last performed: February 4, 1972 (Richmond, VA)
