I can’t fault Bruce for leaving “City of Night” off of Darkness on the Edge of Town.
That album already had two great songs about driving around in cars; a third might have tipped the album over the line from thematic to obsessive.
Still, there’s something hypnotic and wonderful about this lost lovely. Take a listen: (You can stop the video before the “hidden” bonus of “The Way” after the three-minute mark.)
If I had to describe “City of Night” in a word, it would be: carefree. Like his sugar girl, our narrator of hasn’t a care in the world. He’s on his way to see her, and that’s pretty much all we need to know–which is good, because that’s pretty much all we get. His mind wanders during his cab ride to his baby:
Taxi cab, taxi cab at the light
Won’t you take me on a ride through this city of night
I got some money and I’m feeling fine
I ain’t in no hurry so just take your time
Some people wanna die young and gloriously
But taxi cab driver, yeah that ain’t me
I got a cute little baby down at 12th and Vine
And she opens for business just about closing time
Ah hey hey, ah hey hey
City of night, city of night
There’s not a lot in “City of Night” that asks for analysis, but there are a couple of things worth noting.
First, there’s the title itself, another in a long, long list of Springsteen songs inspired by potboilers and film noir. This one takes its name from John Rechy’s 1963 novel (famously namechecked by The Doors in “L.A. Woman”) .
Then there’s that lyric: “Some people wanna die young and gloriously.” That line will resurface a decade later in “All That Heaven Will Allow” (another borrowed title). Although we’re used to hearing Bruce’s lyrics pop up in other songs, at first listen “City of Night” and “All That Heaven Will Allow” couldn’t seem more dissimilar. We might change our mind on repeat listen, however: both narrators are walking on air with only love on their minds.
I don’t believe what I see in this street
I don’t know how people they can take the heat
Well baby I’m a liar, I’m a cheat, and I don’t care
I got my money, I can take my fare
Ah hey hey, ah hey hey
City of night, city of night
There’s some slick editing at work in the second verse. Although Bruce and the band committed “City of Night” to tape on October 14, 1977, the song was actually unfinished. The second half of the second verse was almost completely bluffed, with Bruce mumbling scraps of phrases.
The version that Bruce officially released on The Promise in 2010 deftly edits that entire segment out, and I’ll be darned if I can detect the seam with my own ears. You try:
You might have noticed something else in that original recording besides the skillful edit–where’s the third verse?
I’m riding tonight to see my sugar girl
You know she wears that dress without a care in the world
Yeah she got some loving that’s as bright as the sun
And she brings it with her, man, when she comes
Hey, hey, city of night
Ah-hey, ah-hey, city of night
Ride on…
That last verse in the official 2010 release is new–or at least, it’s not in the original recording. And if you listen carefully, you’ll notice that Bruce’s vocal is new, too.
In general, I’m not a fan of the spliced young Bruce/old Bruce vocals that are all over The Promise. While I understand that some of the songs were unfinished and wouldn’t have stood on their own without the patchwork, I still find the effect jarring.
That said, the editing and vocal style matching in “City of Night” is very, very well done. Bruce’s singing style has evolved over the years, but he knows how to emulate one of his younger voices when he needs to. (To be completely honest, if the inclusion of the surprise third verse hadn’t sparked my curiosity, I’m not sure I would have paid enough attention to notice the vocal change.)
Another surprise is Danny Federici’s organ, absent from the original bootleg recording. I don’t know whether Danny played on the original track and was just left out of the mix, or whether his contribution was added much later–but if the latter, that means that restoration work for The Promise must have started years before its release, given Danny’s passing in early 2008.
Bruce has yet to perform “City of Night” in concert (although he soundchecked it before his Wrecking Ball show in Vancouver), and I’m not sure it would translate well to the stage. It’s too quiet and meandering to carry a show’s momentum, and too stream-of-consciousness to demand focused attention.
“City of Night” will likely remain on its late-night ride, forever closing (it could never be anything other than a closer) a vintage album that never was.
City of Night
Recorded: October 14, 1977
Released: The Promise (2010)
Never performed
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