| PROTECTION - V1 | 3:30 | LM-4 / MI / GS / MILM / UH / BUERM |
| PROTECTION - V2 | 3:35 | GUEST: DONNA SUMMER / 1983 single |
| PROTECTION - V3 | uncirculated |
Note: In early 1982 renowned producer David Geffen contacted Jon Landau to ask if Springsteen would write a song for Donna Summer, the first artist signed to Geffen Records. In response, Bruce wrote "Cover Me", but after hearing it, Landau said, "You aren't giving this one away." Even though he disagreed, Springsteen wrote another song, "Protection", in early February. V1 of "Protection" was recorded by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at The Hit Factory on February 23, 1982, and was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office on March 8, 1982. A demo of "Protection" was sent to Summer and her producer, Quincy Jones, and it was arranged for Roy Bittan and Bruce to fly out to Los Angeles to cut the track. On March 8, they arrived at Westlake Audio Studios, on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles where Summer's tenth album, Donna Summer, was in production. Bruce struck up a friendly relationship with Jones, with whom he would work again in 1985, recording "We Are The World". He also apparently got along with Donna, sleeping on her couch that evening as they worked on the song. He played guitar and provided backing vocals for the recording, which was cut over multiple takes. Quincy was thoroughly impressed, later saying Bruce "was one of the nicest people I have ever worked with. The man has more musical knowledge than a lot of people think and has a deep sense of commitment to music. You could feel his spirit in the sessions." "Protection" was issued as the sixth track on Donna Summer, released on July 19, 1982. The album did not have the success of her disco records of the 1970s, but she was nominated for the 'Best Female Rock Vocal Performance' Grammy for "Protection" in 1983.
A vocal duet version (V3) of "Protection" also exists, but the recording does not currently circulate. Note that six short acoustic demos of a song titled "Protection" were recorded during The River sessions in 1979 and included on 'Lost Masters Volume VIII'. Other than the title, they bear little in common musically or lyrically with this track.