Roll of the Dice: Candy’s Boy

“Does it matter, does it really matter? [Laughs]  I’ll never tell.”  –Bruce Springsteen answering the question “Was Candy a hooker, or what?”, Rolling Stone, November 25, 2010

Candy was definitely a hooker, and it absolutely matters.

But it matters more in “Candy’s Room” than in its ancestral outtake, so we’ll save that particular debate for a later Roll of the Dice date.

Because “Candy’s Boy” and “Candy’s Room” are so similar in theme and content, we’ll save the deep lyrical analysis until then as well. But there’s still much to admire and appreciate about “Candy’s Boy,” especially its richness as a lyrical source for some of Bruce’s much-loved songs.

Candy’s earliest known appearance is in a 1976 rehearsal at Bruce’s house, captured on film in remarkable clarity by Barry Rebo.

Even in this early prototype, we can hear in almost-finished form the first verse of “Candy’s Room”; the only substantive change between this rehearsal and the final vinyl is the substitution of Candy’s pop culture heroes for Jesus in her wall decorations.

In Candy’s room, there are pictures of her savior on the wall
But to get to Candy’s room, you got to walk the darkness of Candy’s hall
Strange men from the city call Candy’s number and bring Candy toys
But when I come knocking she smiles pretty, because she knows tonight I’m gonna be Candy’s boy

But after that famous first verse, we leave the familiar behind to take a ride down Route 9 to a cheap motel, out by a location that would eventually serve as  a set for “Prove It All Night.”

Now in the olden days when the Mongolian gangs rode on Route 9
We go running scared in the shivering rain, settle down south through the pines
Dark weekends in the sun in that cheap motel out by the Dynamo
We loved each other till there was nothing left, and we drove that old car as hard and fast as she would go

Only the bridge sounds a bit unfinished: the first line is a bit awkward, but the second inverts the “Candy’s Room” narrator’s bravado to pure pathos:

Well I got a cool summer wind, oh Candy you know I needed you
But now Candy’s got a man who takes care of her better than I do

The final verse introduces a menacing element to the proceedings–it would appear that at least one of Candy’s clients has underworld connections, and he’s not happy about her betrayal. Our determined hero doesn’t mind, though; he’s playing the long game, counting on their survival.

Well there’s machines and there’s fire watching at night in Candy’s eyes
And there’s some bad boys for hire, they’re gonna blow us because Candy lies
Well let them do their worst, because when it’s all done and we’re in the street
I’ll come knocking and you’ll smile pretty because I’ll be Candy’s boy if she wants me to be

A year later, Bruce and the E Street Band revisited Candy in the studio, and one of those takes would eventually be released–more than three decades later–on The Promise.

The first two verses of the officially released version hew pretty closely to the 1976 rehearsal, with only minor changes that require no deep analysis.

Starting with the bridge, however, the variations become more significant. The cool summer wind becomes a cold winter one–a small change that transforms an atmospheric detail into a metaphorical harbinger.

Well I got a cold winter wind blowing in behind me and you
But Candy’s got a man who takes care of her better than I do

Although the final verse still ends the song on a hopeful note, the cold winter wind telegraphs to us the narrator’s naivete: we immediately recognize that this story will not end well.

Because Bruce devised a way for the bridge to do the heavy storytelling lifting, he was then able to dial back the cynicism of the final verse.

Well there’s machines and there’s fire waiting for us on the edge of town
And there’s some rough boys for hire and they’re waiting to blow me and Candy down
That’s all right ’cause they can’t touch us now and destroy
My sweet love, I will forever be Candy’s boy

Gone is the reference to Candy’s lies or any sense of betrayal. The bad boys are now merely “rough,” more existential menaces than true-life ones. The narrator is more hopeful and less passive, but he’s just as naive as in the earlier version.

Bruce must have known he was on to something in that first couplet–while it wouldn’t survive in the final version of “Candy’s Room,” he would adapt it for “Drive All Night” and liberate it almost verbatim for an early version of “Frankie.”

Lyrically, the song ends at this point, but musically it continues for almost two full minutes on the back of Danny Federici’s glorious organ solo (accompanied by himself on glockenspiel). This is one of Danny’s finest moments on record; his solo is absolutely essential to the song, conveying the blind but buoyant optimism, adoration, and naivete of the narrator so earnestly that we almost believe that he and Candy will live happily ever after. (He’d do the same thing almost two decades later on “Across the Border” to even more powerful effect.)

In the end, Bruce abandoned “Candy’s Boy,” stripping it for parts rather than releasing it on an album. There seems to be a fan consensus that he made the right choice. Certainly a case can be made for Candy’s stronger character definition in the later “Candy’s Room” (the earlier “Candy’s Boy” is completely narrator-centric).

And yet, “Candy’s Room” has always sounded like a composite to me, long before I’d learned of its genetic splicing history with “The Fast Song.”  “Candy’s Boy” is a simpler song with less shading, but its narrator’s fatal innocence has always charmed me and its backing track always struck me as a better fit for its lyrics.

So don’t ask me which is the stronger song–at least not yet. We’ll pick up this thread further on down the road.

To be continued in “The Fast Song” 

Bonus: There are several studio outtakes of “Candy’s Boy” floating around out there, all variations recorded in June 1977. Here’s one of them, almost a full minute longer than the released version on The Promise.

Candy’s Boy
Recorded: June 1977
Released: The Promise (2010)
Never performed

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