Meet “Mary Lou,” big sister to “Be True.” They share the same lyrics, yet they’re completely different songs. Let’s trace their origins together and hear how Bruce constructs a song.
Category: River
A lost power-pop classic, “I Wanna Be With You” charms with its lovesick loser protagonist, fiercely defiant lyrics and exuberant arrangement.
“Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own” is a fun, poppy outtake from the River sessions–guaranteed to make you smile (unless you’re a parent to a teenage girl, in which case you’ll wince).
A classic Springsteen formula–dark lyrics paired with a power pop melody–results in a shoulda-been new wave classic. Insights and great performances inside.
“Living on the Edge” is a glorious hot mess of a song. An unreleased outtake until 1998, it nevertheless spawned no less than three officially released Springsteen originals along the way.
“Dollhouse” features the E Street Band at their new waviest, transforming a River outtake to a piece of power pop perfection.
“Where the Bands Are” is power pop perfection, showcasing the E Street Band at their most joyous.
Just days after the worst accident in American nuclear power history, Bruce wrote his most urgent and topical song yet.
The curious case of a bootleg turned official release (and the mystery of why bother).
“Stray Bullet” is a dark and haunting outcast from the River sessions.