Don't Look Back

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Disc 1 track 17 of Tracks, 1998.

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Credits

• Tracks (1998)
  • Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar
  • Roy Bittan: piano
  • Danny Federici: organ, glockenspiel
  • Garry Tallent: bass
  • Steven Van Zandt: guitar, backing vocals
  • Max Weinberg: drums

Performances

Performed live 31 times (not including snippet performances). 2014-05-18 Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT 2012-10-27 Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA 2012-07-09 Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland 2008-04-28 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC 2000-06-29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 2000-06-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 2000-06-03 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA 2000-05-29 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT 2000-05-21 Arrowhead Pond Of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA 2000-05-07 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT 2000-05-04 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON 2000-04-15 Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY 2000-03-09 National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, FL 1999-11-15 Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH 1999-10-21 Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA 1999-09-28 United Center, Chicago, IL 1999-09-15 First Union Center, Philadelphia, PA 1999-09-09 Palace Of Auburn Hills (The), Auburn Hills, MI 1999-08-24 FleetCenter, Boston, MA 1999-08-07 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1977-03-25 Music Hall, Boston, MA 1977-03-24 Music Hall, Boston, MA 1977-03-23 Music Hall, Boston, MA 1977-03-22 Music Hall, Boston, MA 1977-03-19 Central Maine Youth Center, Lewiston, ME 1977-03-18 New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 1977-03-15 Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, NY 1977-03-14 Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY 1977-03-13 Towson Center, Towson State University, Towson, MD 1977-03-11 Gymnasium, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA 1977-03-10 Sports Arena, Toledo, OH

Performances broken down by tour (not including rehearsals and snippet performances) Performed at 0 show(s) of 118 on the 2023-24 International Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 266 on the Springsteen On Broadway run. Performed at 0 show(s) of 14 on the Summer '17 Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 75 on the The River Tour 2016. Performed at 1 show(s) of 33 on the High Hopes Tour. Performed at 2 show(s) of 133 on the Wrecking Ball Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 83 on the Working On A Dream Tour. Performed at 1 show(s) of 99 on the Magic Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 56 on The Seeger Sessions Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 72 on the Devils & Dust Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 7 on the Vote For Change Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 120 on The Rising Tour. Performed at 16 show(s) of 132 on The Reunion Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 128 on The Ghost Of Tom Joad Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 102 on the World Tour 1992-93. Performed at 0 show(s) of 20 on the Human Rights Now! Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 67 on the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 156 on the Born In The U.S.A. Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 138 on The River Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 111 on the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour. Performed at 11 show(s) of 54 on The Lawsuit Tour. Performed at 0 known other show(s), plus 0 public tour rehearsal(s).

Released on Album

Released on Tracks (1998).

A live version is released on Live In New York City (2001) (recorded June 29, 2000).

Released as Live Download

Live versions are available on the following 2 official live downloads:

• 2014-05-18 Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
• 2008-04-28 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

On The Tracks

DON'T LOOK BACK - V1	3:22	LM-2 / UP / AM
DON'T LOOK BACK - V2	3:26	DO-3 / DDO / UP / DDOC
DON'T LOOK BACK - V3	3:04	ODM / HOD / DO-3 / UP / AM
DON'T LOOK BACK - V4a	2:58	AM / DDO / DDOC
DON'T LOOK BACK - V4b	3:00	PROMISE: DELUXE / DLB
DON'T LOOK BACK - V4c	3:00	TRACKS

Note: "Don't Look Back" was composed early in 1977, during the time Bruce was barred from the recording studio, and was played live regularly during the Lawsuit Tour. Once Bruce's legal case was settled, the E Street Band entered Atlantic Studios, New York, on June 1, 1977. That night they recorded at least ten songs, including "Rendezvous", "Because The Night", "I Wanna Be With You", and, according to biographer Dave Marsh, "the screaming rocker, "Don't Look Back"". Thom Panunzio, assistant engineer, said the session was recorded and transferred to a cassette they called "the Star Wars demo tape." "That was an album, in my opinion, that was great from beginning to end," Panunzio later said. In a 2002 interview with Mark Binelli of Rolling Stone, Springsteen said, "We had great arrangements…the band sounded really good. We recorded about ten or twelve songs in one night, and I realized they weren't any good. It was terribly disappointing…they were centerless, they were coreless, so I went back to the drawing board."

Sony logs show takes were recorded on June 1, 6–8, 17, and 24, 1977. It is thought that V1 and V2, which are instrumental backing tracks, were recorded on June 6–8, while V3 may be the "screaming rocker" from June 1; all were definitely recorded during June 1977. V4 was recorded at Atlantic Studios on July 2, 1977, and mixed (with possible overdubs) on February 28 and March 2, 1978 at the Record Plant. V4a is a widely bootlegged version with a prominent defect in the second verse. V4b sounds like the same take, complete with Springsteen's count-in, and V4c is the officially released version with the count-in removed. "Don't Look Back" was included on album sequences June 1977 to April 1978, but removed on May 5, 1978 to ensure the album was not too long. The claim that it was replaced by "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" is doubtful, since both were included on the April 18 sequence.

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

Lyrics

Don't Look Back

One, two, three, four!

Cold rain running down the front of my shirt
I'm flat on my back, wheels in the dirt
Angel makes her face up out on Baker Street
She's straddling the shifter in my front seat
There's nothing to lose, it's a heartbreak, the deck's stacked
So put your foot to the floor and darling don't look back

We're making night tracks through the blazing rain
Blowing pistons working the fast lane
Red line burning, pocket's full of cash
Angel writes her name in lipstick on my dash
There's nothing to lose, it's a bad break but baby we're backed
Tonight we'll blow off their doors and honey we won't look back

We held it in our hearts in the pouring rain
We made it through the heart of a hurricane
We tore it apart and put it together again
Whoa whoa
Whoa whoa whoaaa

Well angel, won't you believe in love for me
Come on and meet me tonight, darling, out in the street
We'll move with the city in the dark
You gotta walk it, talk it, in your heart
There's nothing to lose, it's a heartache, the deck's stacked
So put your foot to the floor, darling
Tonight we'll blow off their doors, baby
We're gonna even the score, and honey we won't look back

Whoa whoa whoa
Whoa whoa whoa
Ah don't look back
Ah baby don't look back, ah
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Ah baby don't look back
No no no no no
Ah baby don't look
Don't look, don't look
Don't look, don't look
Don't look, don't look
Don't look, don't look
Don't look, don't look
Don't look, don't look
Don't look, don't look
Don't look, don't look
Back

Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.

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