If you ever wondered what it sound like if Bruce crammed all of his lyrical themes from Darkness on the Edge of Town into a single unreleased outtake, you’ve come to the right place.
Today, we take a look at “Break Out” (also known as “All Night Long”), an early outtake from the Darkness sessions that has yet to see the light of day.
Only two takes of “Break Out” have escaped into the wild. The first is super early–so early that Bruce had only written about three lines and had to bluff the rest.
I include that take here solely because of the extended scat Bruce does at about the 1:15 mark that I’m pretty sure was intended as a Muppets homage.
Okay, maybe not. (Although I also think there’s a decent chance Bruce modeled his early ’70s look after that muppet dude.)
Anyway: let’s move on to the second version. This next take is clearly a finished song, although it’s certainly not a releasable mix. The vocals are a bit buried but still easily understandable, and Garry’s bass is far too prominent (but delightfully so–he sounds like he’s having a blast).
Take a listen and see how many references to other released Springsteen songs you can catch.
It’s difficult to analyze “Break Out,” since even this take is still a work in progress, but it’s clear that Bruce is tilling similar soil as “Badlands” — and in fact, I’m sure you picked out some lyrics that would eventually find their way to that iconic song. So rather than cover that ground again, I’ll simply annotate when we encounter a lyric that leads elsewhere.
Here are Bruce’s lyrics, courtesy of the fine folks at SpringeteenLyrics.com. (I’m not 100% sure of their accuracy, but they match what I hear closely enough.)
I was born saved in heaven, and I messed around the promised land
Raised in a good Christian house underneath a good Christian hand
I was schooled down and dirty, signed a note getting back to town
It was there where the workers slaved all week waiting for payday to come around
The official take of “The Promised Land” was completed only weeks after the second take of “Break Out” above. The phrase must have been on his mind, because it appears twice in this outtake.
We’ll also see some similarities to “The Promised Land” in the chorus:
Break out, come on if you’re coming ’cause baby I just can’t stay
I want to take out the walls of this joint, I want to blow this town away
In the second verse, however, we hear the seed of a different Darkness classic:
Now I ain’t into fast livin’, I ain’t into dying young
And I ain’t looking to be forgiven for any of the stupid things that I’ve done
For the ones who once had a notion, a notion it was good to be alive
Feel the spark, the rush of emotion, I want to break out baby tonight
We’re listening to a track from November 1977. Just a few weeks later, that bolded line would appear in a more polished form in “Badlands.” (It also appears in a more familiar form a few verses below.)
I wanna dream, that I got a place
I wanna scream in somebody’s face
Make it seem, get out of this muddy race
All night long
Well all little queens lose their thrones tonight
All you little pretty things better learn to sleep alone tonight
This one’s a bit obscure, but if that last couplet sounded familiar, it’s probably because it reminds you of this passage from “Frankie” (even though “Frankie” was written first):
Let all the finer things sleep alone tonight
Let all the minor kings lose their thrones tonight
Let’s continue:
It was down in the cool dirty living with the man with the master plan
Some girl who can beg forgiveness and a ticket to the promised land
Down where they’ll tear your guts out, making out what you’re all about
And making while we were blasting like a motor, I want out, I want out, I want out
Want out to the outside, well I’m a small and dirty fool
I wanna shout, I’m bound for nothing, I wanna shout about something too
For the ones who once had a notion, it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive
I feel the heat, the rush of devotion, I want to tear out baby tonight
I wanna do what ain’t ever been done
I wanna win what ain’t ever been won
I wanna lose what ???
Prove it all night long
Song reference #4: Bruce had already written and recorded early versions of “Prove It All Night” around the time of that first bluffed version of “Break Out” above, so we know that the appearance of that phrase here is almost certainly a loan.
I wanna know that I got a place
I wanna go where I can see your face
I wanna rock the roof off this place
I want you to know I wanna live
I know we’ve been focusing on the lyrical easter eggs, but “Break Out” really does deserve some recognition for its backing track. It’s a great rocker even in its early versions, and I suspect Bruce did eventually finish the song–“Break Out” was reportedly one of the songs Bruce and team worked on for Tracks two decades later, although it obviously didn’t make the cut.
So keep your fingers crossed: “Break Out” may yet break out.
Break Out
Recorded: September-November 1977
Never released
Never performed
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