Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. - Studio Sessions - Uncertain

Possible Greetings-era Songs

The following titles emanate from the April 1972 to February 1973 period. All the titles below are based on information garnered either from completed lyric sheets, partially completed lyric sheets or documents in Springsteen's handwriting containing song titles (but no lyrics). Springsteen often creates song titles first and then attempts to write words and music around it. So the existence of a song title is no assurance that a song was ever created. There is as yet no solid evidence these were completed songs (words and music) and no evidence they were recorded during any of the Greetings From Asbury Park sessions. If they do exist as recordings the may likely be either as work-in-progress home cassette recordings or solo publishing demos from 914 Sound Studios. It's also possible that some of these songs are merely work-in-progress or alternative titles for other tracks that we are more familiar with. Only time will tell what emerges from the vaults. Please also refer to "Rumoured Songs" in the Born To Run and The Wild, The Innocent sessions section, as some of those titles may turn out to be from the Greetings era.

Possible Greetings-era Songs

AMERICAN DREAM

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Note: Included in a list of "other songs" in Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross. Known from a lyric sheet that includes some lines later used in "Two Hearts In True Waltz Time". Cross says the song is filled with urban imagery like 'garbage truck vigilantes'.

ANGELINA

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Note: Listed in Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross. Contains the first two lines of "Thunder Road", but it's Angelina's dress that sways, not Mary's.

BALBOA V. THE EARTH SLAYER

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Note: Before the first album was released, he placed a call to the NBC producer in charge of the NFL Super Bowl festivities, suggesting that instead of opening the game with "The Star Spangled Banner", NBC should use Bruce Springsteen singing an original, antiwar song, "Balboa Vs. The Earth Slayer". That anyone who lives in the United States could suggest such a thing is astonishing enough. But when he was immediately and understandably turned down, Appel reportedly became enraged. "Someday I’m gonna give you a call and remind you of this," he told the stunned producer. "Then I’m gonna make another call and you’ll be out of a job." (So the story goes. Appel admits making the call.)

BALLAD OF ELMER THE PEA

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title found on a list of songs from 1972.

BEFORE THE FLOOD

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title from a 1972 inventory of songs.

BILLY BOY

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title from a 1972 inventory of songs.

BLACK NIGHT IN BABYLON

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, "Black Night In Babylon" is a biblical drama complete with Moses and a pillar of fire. Apparently, the lyrics are the first in Springsteen's repertoire to mention "the promised land".

BUSTED

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, "Busted" can be found on a early lyric sheet, about a man 'busted, locked in a jail house'.

CALVIN JONES & THE 13TH APOSTLE

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Note: Instrumental written by Bruce in 1972.

CASPER

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Note: Said to be pre-cursor to 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).

DANNY JONES

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title from a 1972 list of songs.

DON'T BE A FOOL (THE SHOW)

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Note: A handwritten lyric sheet for this song was offered for sale in 2022. Based on the paper used, we think the song is from this era.

HIGH NOON

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title from a 1972 list of songs.

IT'S EASY

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title from a 1972 list of songs.

IT'S JUST YOU

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title from a early lyric sheet, also called "It's You".

JENNIFER

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Note: Written in 1968 or 1969 and performed in concert regularly throughout 1969. According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, possibly recorded for Greetings, but no further evidence has yet emerged. Apparently this is a soft ballad and may well be related to the "Jennifer" known via Laurel Canyon copyright documentation.

LONELY STREET

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, "Lonely Street" precedes the demos with John Hammond, dating it to early 1972 at the latest.

LORRAINE

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a simple love song that dates from around the middle of 1972.

MISSIE

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Note: Included in a list of Laurel Canyon demos in Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross. He writes that "Missie" is a ballad recorded during a studio session, the only known recording of the song is incomplete.

ON A DAY OF THE COWBOYS

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a title from a 1972 song list. Not related to "Cowboys Of The Sea", that can be found on the same list.

ORLEANS

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a 1972 song about jazz in New Orleans.

PRISONER OF WARS

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, "Prisoner Of Wars" was written with most of the songs from his first album and has references to Hitler and Israel.

SHE'S GOT NOTHING YOU NEED

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Note: From a list of 1972 songs, according to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross.

SHE'S NOT MY WOMAN

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SHILO

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SPANISH ROSE

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SUMMERTIME IN MY MIND

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TAKE ME DOWN

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TEN COMMANDMENTS

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TEXAS CARNIVAL

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WHITE HOUSE

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, written in 1972 and does not refer to the President's home. With Mexican imagery, like a lot of Springsteen's writing at the time.

WISCONSIN

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Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, from a lyric sheet dating from 1972.