Factory

Factory

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Track 7 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

COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V1		uncirculating
COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V2	2:07	DO-3 / UP / SC / LUTHER
COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V3	2:12	LM-3 / LMEC2 / AM / UP
COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V4	2:09	DDO / DO-1 / UP / DDOC / LES
COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V5		uncirculating
THE FACTORY SONG - V6a	2:15	ODM / HOD / UP / AM
FACTORY - V6b	2:15	DARKNESS / PROMISE: DELUXE
COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V7	2:16	PROMISE

Note: "Come On (Let’s Go Tonight)" was written in the Spring of 1977, and V1 was cut on June 1, 1977, complete with Vox [organ], at Atlantic Studios, on the first night of the Darkness sessions. V2 is the earliest take in circulation, a rough workout, probably from either July 2 or 13 at Atlantic Studios, but further progress was needed on the lyrics. At this point, Bruce had written, "Everybody wants heaven, but nobody wants to die, Come on, come on, let's go tonight." Two out of three verses had "death in their eyes." V3 represented a sudden shift as the song began its metamorphosis into "Factory"; though it retained its original name (Sony logs show all sessions to the end of 1977 under this name), the lyrics were radically rewritten to the story of Douglas Springsteen, Bruce's father, who worked at a machine factory under harsh conditions. An interview quoted Bruce: "I remember my old man was working in this plastics factory… and all I remember, when we used to go in that place, was him standing near 'em loud fucking machines." It is possible that Bruce worked with both ideas for a while, but after September, all energies went toward "The Factory Song", though it was not named this until January 2, 1978.

Sessions took place on August 23, 24 and 30, and September 8, 1977 at the Record Plant. Roy Bittan played his piano Floyd Cramer-style to give it a Chet Atkins-produced country feel, and an organ was not in the mix at this point. Further work was undertaken on November 2, 7, and 8, and December 9, 27, 1977 - a violin overdub by David Lindley was added, possibly on December 9. V7, released on the The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set in 2010, is the finished take of "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)". The vocal is vintage, but the recording date has not been determined. V6 was the result of overdub/mixing sessions on March 10 and 14, 1978, all at the Record Plant. The 1978 sessions were under the name "The Factory Song". Danny recorded new organ tracks, which featured prominently in the final album V6b. Bruce recorded new vocals over the "Come On (Let's Go Tonight) backing track and changed "Factory takes his hearing, but he understands" to "Factory takes his hearing, factory gives him life." V6c is mix take 28 from April 3, 1978, and it was pressed to metal acetate with the title "Factory Song" on April 12, 1978. By the time the album was released however, the title was simply "Factory".

What ever happened to "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)"? In March 1981, Bruce wrote new music and recorded a demo at his home in Colts Neck, NJ with the original name. However, he decided to rearrange it once more, combining several lines with new verses, and the first two lines from Chuck Berry's "Bye Bye Johnny", to create "Johnny Bye-Bye".

^{Studio Sessions: Darkness On the Edge of Town}