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Stolen Car

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Disc 2 track 5 of The River, 1980. See also: "Stolen Car (Vs.1)".

The River (1980)
- 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, percussion

STOLEN CAR - V1 take 1	4:34	LM-6 / ATMF
STOLEN CAR - V2 take 2	4:08	LM-6
SON YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE - V3	4:14	DBTR / SYMKB / SYMKW
STOLEN CAR (Vs.1) - V4 take 3	4:18	TTTBR / TTTBJ / DBTR / TRACKS / DROC2 / RIVER: SINGLE
STOLEN CAR - V5	0:56	LM-7
STOLEN CAR - V6	3:21	LMEC2
STOLEN CAR - V7	2:10	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V8	3:39	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V9	2:40	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V10	2:55	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V11	7:42	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V12	6:14	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V13	7:31	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V14	7:58	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V15	3:50	RIVER

Note: "Stolen Car" is actually the tale of two songs, the first "Stolen Car" was written, recorded and sequenced for release on the aborted single album The Ties That Bind in 1979, and the re-written and re-recorded version found on The River in 1980. It was originally composed in early 1979, and recorded at Power Station on June 20-21, with takes attributed to the latter date. V1, the first take, contains different lyrics and is longer. V2 is referred to as "The Stanton Lake" version, simply because it was the first take that started using that line. Take 3 (v4) was selected for the single album, with final dubbing and mixing on September 24, 1979. It is also the version officially released on Tracks in 1998, and on The River Single Album, included with the TTTB Collection in 2015. v3 is the fourth and last distinct take of "Stolen Car Vs.1", the designation given to the 1979 edition. It was this take of "Stolen Car" that was on a tape that fell into the hands of bootleggers, subsequently dubbed "Son You May Kiss the Bride" and pressed into a vinyl LP of the same name. It contained four unreleased River tracks, "Loose Ends", "Where The Bands Are", "Don't Do It To Me" (aka "Little White Lies"), and the title track. The remainder were prime Darkness outtakes, including, "Preacher's Daughter", "Iceman" and "Rendezvous". It was one of the best selling Springsteen bootlegs ever.

Despite the song being completed at this point Bruce, seemingly unsatisfied, decided months later to radically alter the musical arrangement. The 2015 release of The River: Single Album was the first time the two arrangements were differentiated, with the original arrangement given the title "Stolen Car (Vs.1)". V5 is less than a minute of a solo take, and in V6, Springsteen sings over a tape of a band rehearsal of "Restless Nights", recorded in January 1980. V7 thru V14 were recorded on January 16, 1980 at Telegraph Hill, and feature revised arrangements from that of the version recorded and completed six months earlier. The end result of all this was V15, which was recorded at Power Station on January 21 and February 20, with further mixing or overdubs undertaken on April 1 and 9, plus May 9, 1980.

^{Studio Sessions: The River}

Stolen Car ^{(The River)}

I met a little girl and I settled down
In a little house out on the edge of town
We got married and swore we'd never part
Then little by little we drifted from each other's heart

At first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
In the end it was something more I guess
That tore us apart and made us weep

And I'm driving a stolen car down on Eldridge Avenue
Each night I wait to get caught but I never do

She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel one hundred years old

I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
And I'm telling myself I'm gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
That in this darkness I will disappear

^{Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.}

Stolen Car ^{(The River Collection)}

Well I found me a little girl and I settled down
In a pretty little house in a pretty little town
We got married and promised never to part
Then little by little we drifted from each other's hearts

Now I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
And I'm doing my best to make it through
Well I'm just sitting down here at the Stanton light
I wanna get caught but I never do

At first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
But in the end it was something more, I guess
That tore us apart and made us weep

And I'm driving a stolen car waiting on that little red light
I keep telling myself everything's gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
That in this darkness I might just disappear

She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and we were bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel a hundred years old

There's a river that runs by that little town
Down into the sea
It was there in the shade I laid my body down
As she flowed on so effortlessly

Now there's a party tonight out at County Line
There'll be dancing down at Seven Trees
From these banks I can see those party lights shine
Maybe she's there, maybe she's looking for me

Last night I dreamed I made the call
I swore to return and stay forevermore
Once again we stood on the wedding steps at Victory Hall
And walked arm in arm through the chapel door

I can remember how good I felt inside
When the preacher said "Son, you may kiss the bride"
But as I leaned over to touch her pretty lips
I felt it all slip away through my fingertips

And I'm driving a stolen car through a pitch-black night
I keep telling myself everything's gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
No matter what I do or where I drive
Nobody ever sees me when I ride by

^{Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.}