“For Introducing Darlene Love, Van Zandt reached out to many of the best songwriters in the world, including Springsteen… “I said to them, ‘I want big,’” Van Zandt says. “I want horns and strings. Her voice wants that. And I told them we weren’t waiting, so I gave them a month or two.” — Steve Van Zandt to Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, August 21, 2015
What can Bruce Springsteen do on a month-or-two deadline?
As it turns out, he can deliver a pair of brand-new original songs tailor-suited for Darlene Love’s powerful voice and trademark Spector-ish production.
We took a look at one of those songs–“Night Closing In“–a couple of years ago. (Check out that entry for the backstory on Darlene’s years-in-the-making, Van Zandt-produced debut solo album.) Today, we’ll listen to the other one, “Just Another Lonely Mile.”
Lyrically, “Just Another Lonely Mile” is the polar opposite of “Night Closing In.” The latter is a post-break-up song of heartache; this one’s an anticipatory reunion song.
Just another lonely mile and I’ll be at your door
Just another lonely mile and there’ll be no more loneliness anymore
Just another lonely mile and I’ll be home
Just another lonely mile, no more empty nights, darling, all alone
Just another lonely mile
Just another lonely mile, the sun will break through
All these cloudy days and my hard luck ways, are forever ever ever through
Just another lonely mile, a few more hours my friend
I’ll taste your kiss, the things I’ve missed will all be in my arms again
Just another lonely mile
My wandering sunny days have all turned dark as blood
The fire in your eyes lights my way, I’ll soon be back in the sunshine of your love
Just another lonely mile
Lyrically, this isn’t Bruce’s strongest work. There aren’t that many unique lines and scarcely any metaphor or imagery–and what little there is treads some pretty cliched ground.
But let’s not pay too close attention to the lyrics, because they’re really not the point here. With a lushly arranged, strings-and-horns-forward backing track that eats up that last lonely mile long before even the first verse is over, Bruce’s words are just a vehicle for Love’s incredible voice and Steve’s no-holds-barred production.
Although we’ve never definitively learned whether Bruce created these songs out of whole cloth for Love (I have my doubts about “Night Closing In” in particular), at the very least it’s clear he chose material that would draw more attention to the singer than the song.
To date, Bruce has yet to perform either of the songs he gifted to Darlene, but Love sure has. Here’s her debut live performance of “Just Another Lonely Mile” from her record release show in Asbury Park (with bandleaders Steve Van Zandt) in 2015.
