“Work with me, baby.”
That’s a pretty good distillation of what long-term relationships are like, and that’s exactly what “Town Called Heartbreak” is about.
Patti Scialfa recorded “Town Called Heartbreak” for her 2007 album, Play It As It Lays, but she wrote it long before. A bit tougher in tone than her earlier material, Patti found a home for it on her third album and released it as the album’s first single.
“Town Called Heartbreak” isn’t a title you’d expect for a love song, and frankly its lyrics don’t scream romance either.
They say love
A love has its very own light
That can shine through the darkest night
That we’ve heard of
And that light
That you may want so much
Well maybe you can never touch
Though you may try
Now at night I dream
I’m all alone
Big sledgehammer and a cold dark stone
Man swing the hammer
World begin to shake
I’m just living in a town called Heartbreak
And yet in a way, “Town Called Heartbreak” very much is a love song. It’s about the reality of love, rather than the cliche of it. Maybe we can’t be complete without our partners, but they’re not all it takes to make us complete.
We change, we grow, and our marriages and relationships need to evolve as we do. In that sense, “Town Called Heartbreak” is almost a companion piece to “If I Should Fall Behind.” Bruce wrote that one at the beginning of his life with Patti; “Town Called Heartbreak” is almost like Patti’s answer song many years later.
There’s a tag at the end of Patti’s song that comes directly from the end of Janis Ian’s “Society’s Child,” and it ends the song on an ominously unsettled note. “Society’s Child” is about an inter-racial relationship that doesn’t end well.
Perhaps Patti’s inclusion of it–besides serving as a hat tip to an influence–is her way of signalling that love on its own isn’t enough. There are always other forces at play, and to make a relationship work…
Well, you gotta work with me, baby.
Bruce plays acoustic guitar on Patti’s studio track, a contribution he reprised when he featured “Town Called Heartbreak” in his early Magic Tour set lists.
This time, though, Bruce provided vocals, too, turning the song into a duet–and I’d argue it works even better that way. (Patti’s lyrics read like a conversation even in the original version.)
Fans by and large didn’t respond to the Scialfa spotlight, however, and within two months Bruce dropped the song. It hasn’t been heard from since.
That’s too bad, because the E Street version is gloriously gritty and features some terrific guitar work from Nils and a rare true duet between Patti and Bruce.
“Town Called Heartbreak” is one of Patti’s strongest tracks, and her live performances with Bruce were highlights of the early Magic Tour. This one deserves to be heard from again soon.
Bonus: Here’s a rare live, televised solo Scialfa performance of “Town Called Heartbreak” from 2007 (with some familiar faces in her backing band).
Town Called Heartbreak
Recorded: Early 2007
Released: Play It As It Lays (2007)
First performed: September 25, 2007 (Asbury Park, NJ)
Last performed: November 12, 2007 (Washington, DC)
