Stolen Car (Bruce Springsteen song)
1980 songs | bruce springsteen songs
"Stolen Car" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River. The version released on The River was recorded at The Power Station in New York in January 1980. >
"Stolen Car", along with a few other songs on The River including the title track and "Wreck on the Highway", mark a new direction in Bruce Springsteen's songwriting. These moving ballads imbued with a sense of hopelessness anticipate his next album, Nebraska. Like "The River", "Stolen Car" deals with a failing marriage. The protaganist of "Stolen Car" is driven by his loneliness to car theft, hoping to get caught but fearing to just disappear. Bruce Springsteen himself has noted that "Stolen Car" is one of the songs reflecting a shift in his songwriting style, linking The River to Nebraska.
Alternate Version
An alternate version of the song exists that was released on the album Tracks. This version, sometimes referred to as the "Son you may kiss the bride" version of the song, was recorded at [[Avatar Studios The Power Station] in July 1979. > This version was originally intended to be released on a single album that was to be released in 1979 and called The Ties That Bind. This album was eventually scrapped and expanded to become the double album The River. In this process, "Stolen Car" was rerecorded in the version released on The River.
The version of the song on Tracks has a different, less haunting, instrumentation and a somewhat quicker pace than The River version. But the main difference is the lyrics. The Track version includes 3 additional verses in which the protaganist recalls the good days of his marriage and regains hope. He renews his marriage vows but as he kisses his wife at the end of the ceremony, the feelings of hopelessness return and he resumes his desparate driving of stolen cars hoping to get caught. The lyrics of this version also include river imagery used in some other songs on The River, including the title track and Hungry Heart.
Other
A cover version of "Stolen Car" was recorded by Patty Griffin for her 2002 album, 1000 Kisses.. Another cover version was also recorded by Elliott Murphy. "Stolen Car" and another song from The River, "Drive All Night", played a key role in setting the tone of the 1997 film Cop Land. A slow moving song, "Stolen Car" has not been particularly common in concert, with 51 performances in Bruce Springsteen concerts through 2005. http://www.brucesetlists.com/townlist.php
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References
Category: Bruce Springsteen songs Category: 1980 songs
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