Cover Me: For What It’s Worth

Although many would be hard pressed to name the song correctly, “For What It’s Worth” has been one of our most popular protest songs since its original release by Buffalo Springfield at the tail end of 1966. (It would peak at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following year.)

The song was so popular and influential that Bruce Springsteen wasted no time before covering it. In the spring of 1970, not even six months after its debut, Bruce led his band Steel Mill in a terrific rock arrangement of Stephen Stills’ classic song,

I know the recording appears to cut out abruptly before the end of the song, but the boys actually segued at this point directly into another song. Regardless, there’s more than enough performance here for us to appreciate just how talented and assured Bruce was an arranger even at the tender age of 20.

Surprisingly, this 1970 performance was the only time Bruce has ever performed “For What It’s Worth,” even though the song has cemented its place in the zeitgeist over time.

But even though Bruce never played it again, this isn’t the end of “For What It’s Worth” in the story of Springsteen: five months later, Bruce would debut an original (if cynical) protest song of his own with Steel Mill.

That song–entitled “Change It“–features the lines:

I said you better take a look around you brother
Something’s happening here
Sooner or later it’s gonna surround you
And leave you with nothing but fear

All you gotta do is hang around
Tell you you’re never gonna know
Just what’s going down

…making it clear that while “For What It’s Worth” may have been a one-time-only performance for Bruce, the song lingered in his mind long after.

For What It’s Worth
First performed: May 23, 1970 (Richmond, VA)
Last performed: May 23, 1970 (Richmond, VA)