My Hometown

My Hometown

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Track 12 of Born In The U.S.A., 1984.

Born In The U.S.A. (1984)
- Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar
- Roy Bittan: keyboards
- Clarence Clemons: tambourine
- Danny Federici: organ
- Ruth Jackson: backing vocals
- Garry Tallent: bass
- Max Weinberg: drums

Tracks II: The Lost Albums (2025)
- Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, drum machine programming

YOUR HOMETOWN - V1a	3:30	LM-17 / MT1
YOUR HOMETOWN - V1b	3:14	LM-17
YOUR HOMETOWN - V1c	3:23	LM-17 / GS#1
YOUR HOMETOWN - V1d	3:16	LM-17 / GS#2
MY HOMETOWN - V2	4:54	LM-19
MY HOMETOWN - V3 (Jun-29-1983 take 1)	6:??	uncirculating
MY HOMETOWN - V4 (Jun-29-1983 take 2)	6:??	uncirculating
MY HOMETOWN - V5 (Jun-29-1983 take 3)	4:25	BITUSA / GREATEST
MY HOMETOWN - V6 (Jun-29-1983 take 4)		uncirculating
MY HOMETOWN - V7	4:44	TRACKSII

Note: Written in late 1982 as a rockabilly song called "Your Hometown", with many of the album version lyrics finished by late January 1983. The second verse tells the real-life story of events in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold in May 1969, when a shoot-out between cars of white and black kids turned almost fatal, and the racial tensions and violence in the aftermath. The core of V1 is an early base take recorded by Bruce at his new home, at 7965 Fareholm Drive, Los Angeles, California 90046. Studio logs indicate that recordings were cut on January 29 and 30, and February 9 and 17, 1983, and since all four takes on Lost Masters 17 were on a cassette of eight-track mixes dated January 30, they must have been recorded at some point that month. All four takes are very similar, but V1a has a unique final verse that begins "now there's a hill outside of town", instead of "now last night in bed me and Jane" found in V1b, V1c, and V1d. In addition, V1a, V1b and V1c feature double-track vocals in the final verse, absent in V1d. The demos are of good quality, probably prepared to aid in teaching the song to the band. Instead, Bruce set it aside for a short while before changing the title to "My Hometown", and altering the arrangement for the band.

A revised arrangement of the track, V2, was recorded prior to May 10, 1983 at Bruce's residence in Los Angeles. This version was first released on Lost Masters 19, with the accompanying liner notes indicating that it was sourced from a rough mix cassette dated May 10, 1983. This date is significant, as the earliest documented sessions at the Hit Factory did not occur until May 23, 1983, thereby confirming that V2 was recorded at Springsteen’s home rather than in a professional studio setting. A close listen to the recording reveals the tell-tale signs of the drum machine backing. The "female background vocals" referenced in the Lost Masters artwork are believed to be either synthesized or performed by Springsteen himself.

Following May 23, 1983, a new instrumental backing for the song was recorded by the E Street Band at the Hit Factory, layered beneath the original vocal track from V2. On June 29, 1983, four complete takes were documented at the Hit Factory; however, the first two were ultimately discarded due to excessive duration, each exceeding six minutes. It remains uncertain whether the new backing track was recorded during this particular session, or if the work consisted solely of overdubs, or perhaps mixing. At some stage, Ruth Jackson (the wife of sound engineer Bruce Jackson) recorded background vocals for the final verse. Since Jackson also recorded backing vocals for "County Fair", it's is possible that her contributions to both tracks were made on the same day. Ultimately, take three (designated V5) was selected for inclusion as the final track of Born in the U.S.A.

V7, selected for Tracks II, is an oddity - a previously unheard backing combined with an unusual Springsteen vocal that may involve modern overdubs, which would be unique for the L.A. Garage Sessions '83 album. "My Hometown" is the only track on the album to be mixed by Rob Lebret, who currently performs multiple roles for Springsteen as producer, engineer, and mixer. This, alongside a recording location credit for Stone Hill Studio, indicates that work has been done on the track in the recent years.

^{Studio Sessions: Born In The U.S.A.}

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