By the time Bruce resumed his World Tour in 1993 after a three-month winter break, he’d grown more comfortable with his new band. He’d begun seeding more of his E Street material back into the set, and more importantly he started leaning in to the gospel vocal strengths of his back-up singers.
First came a stunning gospel arrangement of Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross,” which remained a set list staple for the remainder of the tour. By late spring, Bruce had added The Louvin Brothers’ “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” as well.
“Satan’s Jeweled Crown” was a genuine obscurity, released in 1959 on the Louvins’ Satan Is Real album–a country-gospel album that is generally remembered more for its eyebrow-raising cover than its devoutly graceful content. But the song itself is a beautiful tale of redemption, of repent for one’s past sins and rejection of ill-gotten gains.
However, it’s far more likely that Bruce was inspired by Emmylou Harris’ 1975 cover of “Satan’s Jeweled Crown,” released under a slightly different name on her Elite Hotel album.
If you listened closely to both versions, you probably noticed that Emmylou inverts the verses and choruses and makes some additional lyrical tweaks. Bruce follows the same arrangement, and tweaks it even more, changing the “God” references to a less divine “you,” allowing the song to work in either a devout or secular context.
“Satan’s Jeweled Crown” is beautiful in any of its versions, but Bruce’s (mostly) acoustic choral arrangement is particularly stunning, a standout in its five European tour appearances in the spring of 1993. Here’s a gorgeously-captured version from Milton Keynes on May 22, 1993.
Bruce would only play “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” once more after returning home, at a benefit show that served as an epilogue to the 1993 tour. You can purchase that pristine performance as part of Bruce’s official live archive series here.
Satan’s Jeweled Crown
First performed: May 14, 1993 (Berlin, Germany)
Last performed: June 24, 1993 (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
