Souls Of The Departed

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Track 9 of Lucky Town, 1992.

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Credits

• Lucky Town (1992)
  • Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, harmonica, percussion
  • Gary Mallaber: drums

Performances

Performed live 101 times (not including snippet performances). 2008-04-27 Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, NC 2004-10-05 Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN 2003-10-03 Shea Stadium, New York City, NY 2003-10-01 Shea Stadium, New York City, NY 2003-09-21 Comerica Park, Detroit, MI 2003-09-18 Rentschler Field, East Hartford, CT 2003-02-19 Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA 1993-06-26 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 1993-06-24 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1993-06-01 Valle Hovin Stadion, Oslo, Norway 1993-05-30 Gentofte Stadion, Gentofte, Denmark 1993-05-28 Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden 1993-05-25 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy 1993-05-22 National Bowl (The), Milton Keynes, England 1993-05-20 RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland 1993-05-17 Maimarkthalle, Mannheim, Germany 1993-05-16 Alter Flughafen-Riem, Munich, Germany 1993-05-14 Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany 1993-05-11 Estadi Olímpic De Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain 1993-05-09 Auditorio Monte Do Gozo, Santiago De Compostela, Spain 1993-05-07 Estadio Municipal El Molinón, Gijón, Spain 1993-05-05 Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain 1993-05-01 Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal 1993-04-24 Flanders Expo, Ghent, Belgium 1993-04-23 Flanders Expo, Ghent, Belgium 1993-04-20 Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 1993-04-19 Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 1993-04-16 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England 1993-04-15 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England 1993-04-13 Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France 1993-04-11 Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona, Italy 1993-04-08 Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland 1993-04-07 Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland 1993-04-04 Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany 1993-04-03 Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany 1993-03-31 SECC, Glasgow, Scotland 1992-12-17 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY 1992-12-16 Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA 1992-12-14 Boston Garden, Boston, MA 1992-12-13 Boston Garden, Boston, MA 1992-12-08 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1992-12-07 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1992-12-05 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN 1992-12-03 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO 1992-12-02 Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX 1992-11-30 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA 1992-11-24 Miami Arena, Miami, FL 1992-11-23 Orlando Arena, Orlando, FL 1992-11-18 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC 1992-11-17 Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, Chapel Hill, NC 1992-11-15 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT 1992-11-13 Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY 1992-11-10 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 1992-11-09 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY 1992-11-06 SkyDome, Toronto, ON 1992-11-05 SkyDome, Toronto, ON 1992-11-03 Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI 1992-10-31 Target Center, Minneapolis, MN 1992-10-30 Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 1992-10-26 McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO 1992-10-22 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA 1992-10-21 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA 1992-10-18 Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, AB 1992-10-17 Olympic Saddledome, Calgary, AB 1992-10-15 Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC 1992-10-13 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA 1992-10-06 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, CA 1992-10-03 America West Arena, Phoenix, AZ 1992-10-02 America West Arena, Phoenix, AZ 1992-09-29 San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA 1992-09-28 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1992-09-25 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1992-09-24 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1992-09-22 Warner Hollywood Studios, Los Angeles, CA 1992-09-03 World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL 1992-09-02 World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL 1992-08-29 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1992-08-28 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1992-08-26 Capital Centre, Largo, MD 1992-08-25 Capital Centre, Largo, MD 1992-08-22 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH 1992-08-21 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH 1992-08-18 Palace Of Auburn Hills (The), Auburn Hills, MI 1992-08-17 Palace Of Auburn Hills (The), Auburn Hills, MI 1992-08-14 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA 1992-08-13 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA 1992-08-10 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-08-07 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-08-06 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-08-04 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-08-02 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-07-31 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-07-30 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-07-28 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-07-26 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-07-25 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-07-23 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1992-07-12 Wembley Arena, London, England 1992-07-10 Wembley Arena, London, England 1992-07-06 Wembley Arena, London, England 1992-06-15 Globen, Stockholm, Sweden

Performances broken down by tour (not including rehearsals and snippet performances) Performed at 0 show(s) of 130 on the 2023-25 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 0 show(s) of 33 on the High Hopes Tour. Performed at 0 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 1 show(s) of 7 on the Vote For Change Tour. Performed at 4 show(s) of 120 on The Rising Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 132 on The Reunion Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 128 on The Ghost Of Tom Joad Tour. Performed at 91 show(s) of 102 on the World Tour 1992-93. Performed at 4 known other show(s), plus 0 public tour rehearsal(s).

Released on Album

Released on Lucky Town (1992) and Human Touch (Single, 1992).

Released as Live Download

Live versions are available on the following 4 official live downloads:

• 1993-06-24 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
• 1993-05-14 Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany
• 1992-12-13 Boston Garden, Boston, MA
• 1992-07-25 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

One of these recordings is also available on the playlist The Live Series: Songs Of Conscience (2024).

On The Tracks

SOULS OF THE DEPARTED

4:13

LUCKY / 1992 b-side

Note: Recorded sometime from July to December 1991 at Thrill Hill West (Springsteen's Los Angeles home studio). Springsteen handles all guitars, keyboards, and vocals, and his one-man backing band is Gary Mallaber (drums).

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^{Studio Sessions: Lucky Town}

Lyrics

Souls Of The Departed

On the road to Basra stood young Lieutenant Jimmy Bly
Detailed to go through the clothes of the soldiers who died
At night in dreams he sees their souls rise
Yeah like dark geese into the Oklahoma skies

Well this is a prayer for the souls of the departed
Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted
This is a prayer for the souls of the departed

Now Raphael Rodriguez was just seven years old
Shot down in a schoolyard by some East Compton Cholos
His mamma cried "My beautiful boy is dead"
In the hills the self-made men just sighed and shook their heads

This is a prayer for the souls of the departed
Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted
Young lives over before they got started
This is a prayer for the souls of the departed

Yeah tonight as I tuck my own son in bed
All I can think of is what if it would've been him instead
I want to build me a wall so high nothing can burn it down
Right here on my own piece of dirty ground

Now I ply my trade in the land of king dollar
Where you get paid and your silence passes as honor
And all the hatred and dirty little lies
Been written off the books and into decent men's eyes

Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.

Links

• MusicBrainz

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