| SAX SONG | 2:15 | DDO / DO-1 / AM / UP / LES |
Note: Nine takes of this song were recorded on October 14, 1977 at Record Plant, all logged under the title "Sax Song". Bootlegged as "Down By The River" and "Say Sons" for many years - the former due to the frequent use of that phrase in the lyrics, and the latter due to a bootlegger misreading the engineer's handwriting on the tape inlay, mistaking a 'g' for an 's' and an 'x' for a 'y'. There are several examples of reproduced tape inlays in The Promise facsimile book, and one engineer in particular whose 'g' can easily be interpreted as an 's', and it's not hard to imagine how an 'x' could look like a 'y'.
In his book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days Of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Clinton Heylin dates the song to September 27, based on the apparent connection of "Say Sons" to another track in the logs, "Old Sons". Given the evidence (i.e. "Old Sons" should be "Old Song"), it's likely Heylin was mistaken. Not related to Neil Young's song "Down By The River", which Bruce has performed live a couple of times.