Disc 1, Track 5 of The River, 1980.
- The River (1980)
- Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar
- Roy Bittan: piano
- Clarence Clemons: saxophone, tambourine
- Danny Federici: organ
- Garry Tallent: bass
- Steven Van Zandt: guitar
- Max Weinberg: drums
Released on The River (1980), The River (Single, 1981), and The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (2015).
Live versions are released on Live/1975–85 (1986) (recorded July 6, 1981).
Live versions are available on the following 71 official live downloads:
- 2016-08-23 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
- 2016-07-28 Frognerparken, Oslo, Norway
- 2016-07-26 Granåsen Arena, Trondheim, Norway
- 2016-07-23 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 2016-07-20 CASA Arena, Horsens, Denmark
- 2016-07-16 Circus Maximus, Rome, Italy
- 2016-07-13 AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France
- 2016-07-11 AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France
- 2016-07-03 Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy
- 2016-06-29 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway
- 2016-06-27 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
- 2016-05-29 Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland
- 2016-05-17 Estadio Anoeta, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- 2016-04-25 Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
- 2016-04-23 Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
- 2016-04-20 Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, MD
- 2016-04-18 Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State University, University Park, PA
- 2016-04-14 Palace Of Auburn Hills (The), Auburn Hills, MI
- 2016-04-12 Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH
- 2016-04-07 Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
- 2016-04-05 American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
- 2016-04-03 Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
- 2016-03-31 Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
- 2016-03-28 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2016-03-24 KeyArena At Seattle Center, Seattle, WA
- 2016-03-22 Moda Center, Portland, OR
- 2016-03-19 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
- 2016-03-17 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
- 2016-03-15 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
- 2016-03-13 Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
- 2016-03-10 Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ
- 2016-03-06 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, MO
- 2016-03-03 BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
- 2016-02-29 Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN
- 2016-02-27 Blue Cross Arena At The War Memorial, Rochester, NY
- 2016-02-25 First Niagara Center, Buffalo, NY
- 2016-02-23 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
- 2016-02-21 KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
- 2016-02-18 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
- 2016-02-16 BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL
- 2016-02-12 Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
- 2016-02-10 XL Center, Hartford, CT
- 2016-02-08 Times Union Center, Albany, NY
- 2016-02-04 TD Garden, Boston, MA
- 2016-02-02 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
- 2016-01-31 Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
- 2016-01-29 Verizon Center, Washington, DC
- 2016-01-27 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2016-01-19 United Center, Chicago, IL
- 2016-01-16 Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- 2014-04-26 Aaron's Amphitheatre At Lakewood, Atlanta, GA
- 2012-07-04 Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
- 2009-11-08 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-05-22 Arrowhead Pond Of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
- 1999-10-28 Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA
- 1999-10-23 Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
- 1999-09-30 United Center, Chicago, IL
- 1996-11-24 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ
- 1981-07-09 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
- 1981-06-05 Wembley Arena, London, England
- 1980-12-31 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
- 1980-12-29 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
- 1980-12-28 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
- 1980-11-05 ASU Activity Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
- 1978-12-16 Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
- 1978-12-08 Summit (The), Houston, TX
- 1978-09-30 Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
- 1978-09-21 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
- 1978-09-20 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
- 1978-09-19 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
- 1978-07-07 Roxy Theatre (The), West Hollywood, CA
One of these recordings is also available on the playlists The Live Series Collection: Stripped Down (2020), The Live Series: Songs On Keys (2023), and The Darkness Tour '78 (2023).
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V1 - take 3 | uncirculating | |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V2 | 6:17 | LM-3 / AM / UP / LMEC2 / GT |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V3a - mix take #10 | 5:18 | uncirculating |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V3b | 5:27 | DROC1 / RRR / ATMF |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V3c | 4:39 | RIVER |
Note: In a phone interview with a CHOM-FM DJ after a show on November 8, 1978 at the Montreal Forum, Bruce said "Independence Day" was written "before a lot of the stuff recorded on Darkness." It also appears on a "New Songs" list generally attributed to the pre-Darkness era. It was first recorded on August 15, 1977, and take 3 was dubbed to a ruffs mix tape, the inlay of which was reproduced in The Promise facsimile book. V2 was a bootlegged take likely recorded on September 26–27 at Record Plant Studios. Springsteen must have completed the song to some extent, because it was slated to be track 4 on the October 'Badlands' album, until Bruce canceled the project. He went back to work on it on November 4, 7, and December 9, 1977. When a proposed track sequence was assembled on January 16, 1978, "Independence Day" was an alternate track, but it was soon dropped from consideration. Bruce played it live on July 7, 1978 at the Roxy, and over thirty times to the end of the Darkness Tour. Sessions resumed at Power Station studios on May 29 and October 11, 1979, with mixing and dubbing sessions on April 24 and 25, 1980. V3a is mix take #10, with slight alterations to the snare drums and vocals. V3b is the complete, uncut recording with the instrumental coda that was removed from the album version, V3c.
Studio Sessions: Darkness On the Edge of Town
Independence Day |
Well Papa go to bed now, it's getting late
Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
I'll be leaving in the morning from St. Mary's Gate
We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow
'Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
But they can't touch me now and you can't touch me now
They ain't gonna do to me what I watched them do to you
So say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day all down the line
Just say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day this time
Now I don't know what it always was with us
We chose the words and, yeah, we drew the lines
There was just no way this house could hold the two of us
I guess that we were just too much of the same kind
Well say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day, all boys must run away
So say goodbye, it's Independence Day
All men must make their way come Independence Day
Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint
And the highway she's deserted, clear down to Breaker's Point
There's a lot of people leaving town now, leaving their friends, their homes
At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone
Well Papa go to bed now, it's getting late
Nothing we can say can change anything now
Because there's just different people coming down here now and they see things in different ways
And soon everything we've known will just be swept away
So say goodbye, it's Independence Day
Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
But won't you just say goodbye, it's Independence Day
I swear I never meant to take those things away
| Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song. |
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