Wreck On The Highway

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Disc 2 track 9 of The River, 1980.

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Credits

• 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

Performances

Performed live 146 times (not including snippet performances). 2016-07-28 Frognerparken, Oslo, Norway 2016-07-23 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden 2016-07-13 AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France 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 2010-05-06 Dreyfuss Theater, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ 2009-11-08 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 2005-11-04 St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL 2005-10-12 Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN 2005-10-07 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT 2005-07-14 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON 2005-06-07 DatchForum, Milan, Italy 2005-05-17 Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, PA 2005-05-15 Wolstein Center, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH 2005-05-14 Patriot Center, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 1994-06-18 McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA 1985-03-28 Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1981-09-10 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL 1981-08-20 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1981-08-17 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO 1981-08-05 Capital Centre, Largo, MD 1981-07-30 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH 1981-07-18 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1981-07-02 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1981-06-01 Wembley Arena, London, England 1981-05-26 Brighton Centre (The), Brighton, England 1981-05-20 New Bingley Hall, Stafford, England 1981-05-17 Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland 1981-05-14 Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England 1981-05-11 City Hall, Newcastle, England 1981-05-08 Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden 1981-05-05 Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway 1981-05-03 Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden 1981-05-02 Brøndbyhallen, Copenhagen, Denmark 1981-04-29 Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 1981-04-28 Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 1981-04-24 Palais Des Sports De Gerland, Lyon, France 1981-04-18 Palais Des Sports De Saint-Ouen, Paris, France 1981-04-16 Olympiahalle, Munich, West Germany 1981-04-11 Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland 1981-04-09 ICC Berlin, West Berlin, West Germany 1981-04-07 Congress Centrum Hamburg, Hamburg, West Germany 1981-03-04 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY 1981-03-02 Hampton Roads Coliseum, Hampton, VA 1981-02-28 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC 1981-02-26 Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN 1981-02-25 Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, TN 1981-02-23 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA 1981-02-22 Carolina Coliseum, Columbia, SC 1981-02-16 Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, FL 1981-02-15 Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, FL 1981-02-12 Municipal Auditorium, Mobile, AL 1981-02-07 Assembly Hall, University Of Illinois, Champaign, IL 1981-02-05 Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO 1981-02-04 SIU Arena, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 1981-02-02 Dane County Memorial Coliseum, Madison, WI 1981-02-01 St. Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, MN 1981-01-29 Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 1981-01-28 Checkerdome, St. Louis, MO 1981-01-26 Athletic & Convocation Center, University Of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN 1981-01-24 Ottawa Civic Centre, Ottawa, ON 1981-01-23 Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC 1981-01-21 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON 1981-01-20 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON 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 1980-12-19 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 1980-12-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 1980-12-16 Boston Garden, Boston, MA 1980-12-15 Boston Garden, Boston, MA 1980-12-12 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT 1980-12-11 Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI 1980-12-09 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1980-12-08 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1980-12-06 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1980-12-04 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY 1980-12-02 Rochester Community War Memorial, Rochester, NY 1980-12-01 Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA 1980-11-30 Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA 1980-11-28 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 1980-11-27 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY 1980-11-24 Capital Centre, Largo, MD 1980-11-23 Capital Centre, Largo, MD 1980-11-20 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL 1980-11-15 Summit (The), Houston, TX 1980-11-14 Summit (The), Houston, TX 1980-11-11 LSU Assembly Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 1980-11-09 Special Events Center, University Of Texas, Austin, TX 1980-11-08 Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX 1980-11-05 ASU Activity Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 1980-11-03 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1980-11-01 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1980-10-31 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1980-10-30 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1980-10-28 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA 1980-10-27 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA 1980-10-25 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR 1980-10-24 Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle, WA 1980-10-20 McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO 1980-10-18 Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO 1980-10-17 Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO 1980-10-14 Mecca Arena, Milwaukee, WI 1980-10-13 St. Paul Civic Center, Saint Paul, MN 1980-10-11 Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL 1980-10-10 Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL 1980-10-09 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI 1980-10-07 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH 1980-10-06 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH 1980-10-04 Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH 1980-10-03 Crisler Arena, University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

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 40 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 1 show(s) of 83 on the Working On A Dream Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 99 on the Magic Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 56 on The Seeger Sessions Tour. Performed at 8 show(s) of 72 on the Devils & Dust Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 7 on the Vote For Change Tour. Performed at 0 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 0 show(s) of 102 on the World Tour 1992-93. Performed at 0 show(s) of 20 on the Human Rights Now! Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 67 on the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour. Performed at 1 show(s) of 156 on the Born In The U.S.A. Tour. Performed at 94 show(s) of 138 on The River Tour. Performed at 2 known other show(s), plus 0 public tour rehearsal(s).

Released on Album

Released on The River (1980), Cadillac Ranch (Single, 1981), and The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (2015).

A live version is released on Awake (John Wesley Harding, 1997) (recorded June 18, 1994).

Released as Live Download

Live versions are available on the following 46 official live downloads:

• 2016-07-28 Frognerparken, Oslo, Norway
• 2016-07-23 Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden
• 2016-07-13 AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France
• 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
• 2009-11-08 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
• 2005-05-17 Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, PA
• 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

On The Tracks

WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY - V1	3:30	LM-13
WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY - V2	3:44	RIVER

Note: V1 is a full-band rehearsal from Telegraph Hill on January 16, 1980, in a country arrangement that bears a very strong resemblance to Springsteen's cover of Hank Williams's "Wedding Bells" that he rehearsed during soundcheck at Passaic's Capitol Theatre in September 1978. Studio documentation shows entries for "Wreck On The Highway" over three consecutive days on April 10–12, 1980. It's likely that these entries are referencing mixing sessions at Clover Studios in Los Angeles, and the true recording dates are undocumented.

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^{Studio Sessions: The River}

Lyrics

Wreck On The Highway

Last night I was out driving
Coming home at the end of the working day
I was riding alone through the drizzling rain
On a deserted stretch of a county two-lane
When I came upon a wreck on the highway

Now there was blood and glass all over
And there was nobody there but me
As the rain tumbled down hard and cold
I seen a young man lying by the side of the road
He cried "Mister, won't you help me please"

An ambulance finally came and took him to Riverside
I watched as they drove him away
And I thought of a girlfriend or a young wife
And a state trooper knocking in the middle of the night
To say "your baby died in a wreck on the highway"

Sometimes I sit up in the darkness
And I watch my baby as she sleeps
Then I climb in bed and I hold her tight
I just lay there awake in the middle of the night
Thinking 'bout the wreck on the highway

Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.

Wreck On The Highway (Live Version) June 18, 1994

Last night I was out driving
Coming home at the end of a working day
Driving alone in the drizzling rain
'Cross a deserted stretch of a county two-lane
I came across a wreck on the highway

Well there was blood and glass all over
And there was nobody there but me
And as the rain came down so hard and cold
I saw a young man lying by the side of the road
Who said "Mister, won't you help me please"

An ambulance finally came and took him to Riverside
I watched as they drove him away
And I thought of a girlfriend or a young wife
And a state trooper knocking in the middle of the night
To say "your baby died in a wreck on the highway"

Sometimes I sit up in the darkness
And I watch my baby as she sleeps
Then I climb in bed and I hold her tight
I just lie there awake in the middle of the night
And I think about the wreck on the highway

I'd like to thank Bruce Springsteen.

Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.

Links

• MusicBrainz

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