We’re almost finished working our way through Bruce Springsteen’s “1968 Notebook,” a remarkably early collection of material written (but not recorded) by a budding eighteen-year-old singer-songwriter destined for rock and roll stardom.
The notebook contains twenty unreleased songs. We know of its existence only because it was sold in a 2006 public auction with scans made available for potential bidders.
Our subject today is the faded entry at the very bottom of the table of contents above: an almost-finished song called “Sun Time,” complete with chord notation and direction.
Bruce’s lyrics are just a little bit fuzzy in the scan–enough to obfuscate several words throughout (particularly in the third verse). However, enough is legible for us to get a sense of “Sun Time” as a tender bordering on sappy love song that was no doubt intended for Bruce’s acoustic performances.
Like a forest after the rain
As teardrops of sunlight pushes the ???
Open like the sea after the storm ???
And tranquility once again starts to reign
Like a story that was never told
Like a mountain stream with waters running so cold
Like a flower wet with the spring
Like the silly songs that I sing
The earth with all its beauty came to bare
??? ??? through the silk thin strands of your honeyed hair
and I feel ??? ??? knowing that your ???
The thought that you may go away
Clouds my tender years with ???
‘Cause I can’t see without your eyes
And I can’t touch without your hands
And I can’t live without your life
And I can’t love without your love
There’s not a lot to analyze here, due both to the illegible lines and the relatively straightforward nature metaphor as stand-in for his love interest. Again, though, the kid was just eighteen and only beginning to experiment with writing about love. Bigger and better songs lay ahead.
Sun Time
Never recorded
Never released
Never performed
Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our full index here. New entries every week!
