Bruce spent much of early 1979 writing and working out new material from his home in Holmdel.
Over the past few years, we’ve listened to many of the acoustic, work-in-progress demos that somehow escaped into the wild. Most are at least partially (and often mostly) bluffed, and many ultimately led nowhere.
Today’s entry definitely falls into the “mostly bluffed” category, but it definitely led somewhere. It goes by the name “Love and Kisses,” one of the few repeated lyrics that can be clearly understood.
Bruce’s vocals are so heavily bluffed that it’s not worth trying to transcribe the lyrics, but we can hear just enough to discern a romantic song in the making.
But it’s the melody that’s revealing here: if it sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the foundation of an officially released outtake from a few years later. Bruce obviously thought enough of his musical composition to revive it for “Wages of Sin” during the Born in the U.S.A. sessions.
Bruce continued working on “Love and Kisses,” evolving the melody into something a bit more distinctive (take a listen below). As far as we know, though, the lyrics were a dead end, rendering the song of note solely for its contribution to “Wages of Sin.”
Love and Kisses
Recorded: Early 1979 (acoustic demos only)
Never released
Never performed
Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our full index here. New entries every week!
