RotD/MatR: Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen: I’m Not Sleeping

Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen’s songwriting partnership started with American Babylon, but it certainly didn’t end there.

Inspired by their songwriting chemistry, Bruce and Joe continued collaborating even once American Babylon was in the can, writing a collection of songs in 1995, many of which are still unreleased.

As had become their custom when they worked together, Joe wrote most of the lyrics and Bruce wrote most of the music. But for at least one track the process was a lot more iterative.

Joe wrote the lyrics for “I’m Not Sleeping” as political commentary on the state of the union, but his inspiration was his father’s playful excuse when his mother called him out for falling asleep on them: “I’m not sleeping!,” Joe’s dad would say, “I’m only resting my eyes.”

Joe realized their family joke would also make for a great hook in a song for anyone who’s ever been overwhelmed by the 24-hour news cycle and needed to tune out the world for a bit. We’re not sleeping; we’re just resting our eyes.

Joe shared his lyrics with Bruce during a 1995 songwriting session, and Bruce set them to music. But this time, their back-and-forth continued for several iterations, with Bruce and Joe each taking ideas from the other, sharing and absorbing, tweaking and recording, until they finally arrived at a song that bore both of their stamps.

Joe recorded released “I’m Not Sleeping” on his 1998 album, Coming Home.

I never go out, I just stay at home
Change my address and disconnect the phone
Turn off the TV because it bothers me
I’ve seen all, seen all I want to see
And if my friends ask where I’ve been
Just say I don’t know what’s become of him

Well I’m not sleeping
I’m only resting my eyes
Well I’m not sleeping
I’m only taking my time

Well it’s so hard, so hard to be responsible
Knowing everything, everything that’s possible
When the bad wind, when it comes blowing in
I’ll pack my things and I’ll move on again
I feed the rich and fool the poor
Stack the bodies outside my door

The world outside is such a dangerous place
That I don’t dare, I don’t dare show my face
They got my number, they know where I live
Well I’ve got no more to say, I’ve got no more to give

But I’m not sleeping

Another night comes drawing near
I shut my doors and then I disappear

But I’m not sleeping
I’m only resting my eyes

In a just world, “I’m Not Sleeping” would have been a hit single. It had all the elements, and it sounds even more relevant and fresh today than it did in 1998. (At least one of Joe’s lines also snuck its way into one of Bruce’s songs almost a decade later. Can you spot it?)

But while Bruce doesn’t appear on Joe’s studio track and hasn’t released his own version, he performed it live on stage with Joe eight times over a four-year period from 2010 to 2014. Those performances are an absolute joy to behold: Joe and Bruce perform it as a true duet, and not only does Bruce clearly enjoy singing it, he knows it well enough to not even glance at a teleprompter–a pretty rare thing in recent years.

Joe and Bruce’s performances of “I’m Not Sleeping” are so great, in fact, that I can’t bring myself to choose just one to feature here. So let’s enjoy this pair of clips from 2010 and 2011 and appreciate the artistry and chemistry of the Grushecky/Springsteen songwriting team.

I’m Not Sleeping
Released: Coming Home (1998)
First performed: November 4, 2010 (Pittsburgh, PA)
Last performed: May 23, 2014 (Pittsburgh, PA)

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