Candy's Room

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Track 4 of Darkness On The Edge Of Town, 1978.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)
- Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar
- Roy Bittan: piano, backing vocals
- Clarence Clemons: percussion, backing vocals
- Danny Federici: organ, glockenspiel
- Garry Tallent: bass
- Steven Van Zandt: guitar, backing vocals
- Max Weinberg: drums

THE FAST SONG - V1 - backing track	2:54	LM-2 / DO-3 / UP / ATEOD / AM / DDO / DDOC
THE FAST SONG - V2a	2:32	DO-3
THE FAST SONG - V2b	3:00	LM-3 / DDO / UP / GT / DO-2
THE FAST SONG - V2c	2:58	UP / AM / ODM / HOD
THE FAST SONG - V2d	3:02	UP / AM / MT1
CANDY'S ROOM DEMO - V3	1:37	PROMISE: VAULT
NEW FAST SONG (CANDY) - V4		uncirculating
CANDY'S ROOM - V5a - mix take #13	2:41	ODM / HOD / UP / AM
CANDY'S ROOM - V5b - mix take #42	2:43	DARKNESS

Note: "God's Angels", alternately named "The Fast Song", was a fast-paced melody written by Bruce around May 1977 and developed at Atlantic Studios, New York during June. Though studio logs show the first take was on June 6, evidence exists that it was recorded on June 1 at Atlantic Studios, the first day of sessions. Instrumental track V1 was worked on June 6, 9, or 10. The lyrics heard in V2a can only be found in very poor quality on Darkness Outtakes Volume 3 (The Promise), but features an incredible searing guitar solo, strangely never to be heard again. "I wish God's Angels would tear this town down, blow it into the sea, and that's okay with me because I don't care"; V2b was worked on June 13, 14, 20 and 24, and again (V2c and V2d) on August 24, September 1 and 2, 1977, and lyrics slightly change ": "I wish God's angels would tear this town down and blow it into the sea, man that's alright with me I don't care anymore". There is no ironclad proof of this chronology, it could be the other way around. All of these lines were blown into the sea on September 27. Thanks to Eddy at springsteenlyrics.com for his consultations.

The evidence is a bit confusing, but it is not hard to conclude that "Candy's Room" was around since at least May 1977, and was connected to "The Fast Song", as evidenced by the Ampex cassette jacket dated June 1, 1977. Springsteen's mind at this point was turning faster than ever with song ideas; he was nothing like the "Born to Run" Bruce. Darkness was set to be released in October 1977, but he postponed that until June 1978, because of the constant stream of new ideas flowing through his head. Nothing illustrates this better than the genesis of "Candy's Room".

In the Thrill Hill Vault DVD/Blu-ray on The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set, there is a short segment with Bruce and Jon Landau in the Record Plant, as Bruce plays for Jon new lyrics he has written for "Candy's Room Demo" (V3); these are entirely new, and describe a magical house at the edge of town, with Candy waiting for him in the window. One has to conclude that this took place around September 10, 1977, just before Bruce decided to re-organize "The Fast Song" into "Candy's Room", giving his obsession (Candy) the home she deserves, in one of his best musical constructs, "The Fast Song". He took the first verse of Candy's Boy, the second verse from the Fast Song, lines from "Frankie", and fresh lyrics ("we kiss", instead of "I got caught" at the start of Max's drum roll). The third verse was mainly adapted from the Fast Song. On September 27, "The New Fast Song (Candy)" V4 appeared for the first time, and over the next two days, he worked on it extensively, now calling it "Candy's Room". Studio logs show another take on December 12, 1977, and then a marathon mixing session, from March 3 to March 5, 1978, which finally concluded when take 42 (v5b) was selected for Darkness On the Edge of Town.

We don't have an outtake from September 27, but we do have Bruce's lyrics for "New Fast Song (Candy)", his interim title. The transcribed words contain several lines that did not survive to the album track "Candy's Room". "I get visions of avenging angels of eden with their white horses and flaming swords can blow this whole town into the sea" is from "God's Angels-Fast Song", and "they cant touch Candy and me, our love they cannot destroy, I will forever be Candy's boy". is still hanging on.

Craig Finn of the Hold Steady describes "Candy’s Room" as "a rocket ship that blasts out of somewhere private into the world." It has been mentioned Candy might be a prostitute, with "fancy clothes and diamond rings" and "men who give her anything she wants." In a 2010 interview with Rolling Stone, Springsteen said, "Does it really matter? I'll never tell." Bruce Springsteen is a good catholic boy, who wrote in "Atlantic City", "our love may be cold, but with you forever I'll stay"; many times he has written about endless fidelity. The closest he came to writing about prostitution was "the hard girls over on easy street" in "Incident on 57th Street". Clinton Heylin said "He took the rocking, kick ass melody of The Fast Song, replaced the first verse he had written with Candy’s Boy’s strong opening, along with the character of Candy, and developed their relationship from there." He wrote in V3 "And for me, for me, she's waiting, In the window I see her face, All the beauty that time can't erase…Tonight…"

^{Studio Sessions: Darkness On The Edge Of Town}