STAND ON IT

Official studio version



Well Jimmy Lee was hooking 'round the far turn of a funky southern Florida dirt track
He had mud caked on his goggles and a screaming 350 stacked up on his back
Well as he passed the stands he was feeling all tuckered out
When through the roar of his engine he heard somebody shout
"Stand on it, come on boy, stand on it"

Mary Beth started to drift, she hit the shift but she just couldn't get a hand on it
Racing some Red Hill boys, she had the deed to the ranch and a grand on it
With eight grand blowing hot on the red line
She blew past a hitchhiker out on Route 39
He hollered "Stand on it, go 'head baby, stand on it"

Well now when in doubt and you can't figure it out, just stand on it
Well if your mind's confused, you don't know what you're gonna do, well buddy, stand on it
Well if you've lost control of the situation at hand
Go grab a girl and see a rock and roll band
And stand on it, come on man, stand on it
Stand on it, boys!

Hey-hey, well now Columbus he discovered America even though he hadn't planned on it
He got lost and woke up one a-morning when he's about to land on it
He wouldn't have got out of Italy, man that's for sure
Without Queen Isabella standing on the shore
Shouting "Stand on it, go ahead man, stand on it"

Yeah but when in doubt and you can't figure it out, buddy stand on it
Well if your mind's confused, you don't know what you're gonna do, then buddy, stand on it
Well if you've lost control of the situation at hand
Grab a girl, go see a rock and roll band
And stand on it, come on man, stand on it

Bobby was leading the pack, he settled back and he got ready for the long haul
Well fifty yards from the finish line somebody roared up and they blew him into the wall
Well he rolled over twice, lucky to survive
Laying in the back of the ambulance more dead than alive
Somebody shouted "Man, you call that driving, why didn't you stand on it"

Go!
Stand on it
Come on boys, stand on it
Come on man, stand on it
Come on boys, stand on it
Come on baby, stand on it
Come on man, stand on it
Come on, let's stand on it
Ahhh whoa!


PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Info

STAND ON IT is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and first released as the non-album B-side of GLORY DAYS in 1985.


The official studio version of STAND ON IT was included on the Tracks compilation in 1998. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's official studio version of STAND ON IT as released in 1998. The version released in 1985 is edited; it omits the last verse and fades out earlier (the parts above in bold).

Writing and Recording

In a 1989 interview, Max Weinberg told Rolling Stone: "I remember one night when we were completely packed up to go home and Bruce was off in the corner playing his acoustic guitar. Suddenly the bug hit him, and he started writing these rockabilly songs. We'd been recording all night and were dead tired, but they had to open up the cases and set up the equipment so that we could start recording again at five in the morning. That's when we got 'Pink Cadillac,' 'Stand on It,' and a song called 'TV Movie.' Bruce got on a roll, and when that happens, you just hold on for dear life."

According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, STAND ON IT was recorded on 16 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory in New York City, NY. Only one studio take of the song is in circulation, released in 1985 in an edited form and in 1998 in its complete form. This official studio version of STAND ON IT must emanate from that 16 Jun 1983 session at The Hit Factory.

Lyrics Sheet

A typed lyrics sheet for STAND ON IT was auctioned in March 2016 on eBay. The lyrics are hand-annotated in red ink by Bruce Springsteen, leading to the final draft printed on the Tracks box set booklet. It seems that this sheet was part of a larger stack that served as a proof that was passed through Springsteen for final revisions before the lyrics get printed on the booklet.

STAND ON IT typed lyrics sheet
STAND ON IT typed lyrics sheet

Single Release

SECTION NOT YET COMPLETED

Bruce Springsteen -- Glory Days
Bruce Springsteen -- Glory Days

7" single - CBS / Sony (07SP 896) - Japan, 1985

Comes with a picture insert. Promotional copies are identical to the commercial ones with the exception of "NOT FOR SALE / SAMPLE" (in Japanese) imprint above the catalogue number on the labels.

A1- GLORY DAYS
B1- STAND ON IT

Tracks

In the liner notes of his Tracks box set, Bruce Springsteen introduces the box set as follows:

During long intervals between my record releases, as I was spending more and more time in the studio, when I met a fan out on the street I was often asked, "What are you guys doing in there?" I regularly pondered that question myself.

What we were doing in there was making a lot of music, a lot more music than I could use at any one time. As a result, my albums became a series of choices — what to include, what to leave out? I based my decisions on my creative point of view at the moment — the subject I was trying to focus on, something musical or emotional I was trying to express. In certain instances, as on Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska, and The Ghost of Tom Joad, these choices crystallized the album I was making. On some of my other records the reasons I had for choosing one song over another, in hindsight, feel a good deal less significant. One of the results of working like this was that a lot of music, including some of my favorite things, remained unreleased.

This collection contains everything from the first notes I sang in the Columbia recording studio, my early and later work with the E Street Band, through to my music in the 90s. It's the alternate route to some of the destinations I travelled to on my records, an invitation into the studio on the many nights we spent making music in search of the records we presented to you. I'm glad to finally be able to share this music; here are some of the ones that got away.

- Bruce Springsteen, September 1998

Bruce Springsteen's albums were thematically linked even if they were not strictly concept albums; so some tracks that didn't fit the theme of the album ended up orphaned, not necessarily because they didn't meet his high standards, but because, he says, they didn't fit in with the tone or themes he mined for each set. Many of these unreleased studio outtakes got under the hands of bootleggers. Discussing that issue in 1984, Springsteen told Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder, "We record a lot of material, but we just don't release it all. [...] I always tell myself that some day I'm gonna put an album out with all this stuff on it that didn't fit in. I think there's some good material there that should come out. Maybe at some point, I'll do that."

During a break in The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour, Springsteen thought that "if it's gonna be a year or longer in between records, I have all this music that I know is very good that I never released and I should release some of it whether it was just a CD or something. In that period of time, I should put something out because people would like to have it and I'd like to see it get out." He told Toby Scott (his audio archivist and recording engineer), "send me all the archives, send everything that we recorded". Scott then went to work gathering the potential material from Springsteen's massive audio library (located, along with Sony's sound archives, in the high-tech Iron Mountain facility near Buffalo, NY). "For a week or so," he told Billboard in a Nov 1998 interview, "I just listened to everything that I'd done that we hadn't put out. I made some very brief notes in a notebook, and then I just put it away. It was something that I could do at some point when I get to that place in a new project where I'm not sure how long it's going to take and it would be nice to sort of fill the gap so the fans wouldn't be so long without hearing any music from me".

Springsteen told Mark Hagen in an interview for Mojo magazine published in January 1999, "So it began just with that idea and we listened to about 250 songs, maybe more, I made quick notes in a notebook and put it away. A year went by, more maybe, and I came off the Tom Joad tour and I began to write acoustically again and I wrote about half a record. Then I got stuck and said, 'Well, I'm going to put this aside for a while.' Then I wrote half of an electric record, and hit the same place. So I thought, instead of waiting for another year to put something out I'll put some of this music together. So once again I went back to the archives." According to interview comments made by engineer Toby Scott (Springsteen's audio archivist and recording engineer), it was in February 1998 during solo sessions being conducted at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Colts Neck, NJ, that Springsteen told Scott that the time was right to proceed with the long-anticipated box set of archived, unreleased studio takes. Thrill Hill Recording served as the main operational center for all Tracks project activities. Note that the "Thrill Hill Recording" name is used for whatever home studio Springsteen is recording at, whether it's in Rumson, NJ, Colts, NJ, or Beverly Hills, CA.

Springsteen told Billboard that the songs were culled from between 200 and 300 tunes. According to Toby Scott, the number was down to about 128 songs by late June 1998. It was then narrowed down yet again in July to about 100 songs that were prepped for the Tracks release. Although the project was originally projected to be a 6-disc set, there was a commercial decision made later in the summer to reduce the size of the release to a 4-disc (66-track) set. The package was delivered to Sony in mid-September in order to facilitate the mid-November 1998 release schedule.

Unreleased songs from the Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ sessions were not included on the box set due to ongoing and still-unresolved court proceedings involving most of these unreleased 1972 recordings. The court battle wasn't resolved until in 2001 (April 2001 in the UK and June 2001 in the U.S.), and those recordings are now free for release at any time. The opening four tracks of the box set — which were culled from Springsteen's 03 May 1972 Columbia Records audition — were not part of the court proceedings.

On 16 Jul 1998, Springsteen attended a convention for Sony Music Entertainment Inc. in Miami, FL, where he officially announced that a box set was the works and he played a tape of three songs: WHERE THE BANDS ARE, LOOSE ENDS, and I WANNA BE WITH YOU.

The Tracks box set was released on Columbia Records on 10 Nov 1998. It was issued on both compact disc and audio cassette formats. It's a 4-disc (or 4-cassette) set consisting of a total of 66 tracks (almost 4.5 hours long), 10 of which were heretofore unavailable single B-sides, 6 were demos and alternate versions of already-released material, and 50 (48 studio and 2 live) were never-before-released songs recorded during the sessions for Springsteen's many albums. Some tracks were treated with a recent touch-up here or there to give the older recordings a fresh polish.

  • Disc 1 consists of material from 1972 to 1980, including Springsteen's very first Columbia Records audition for legendary A & R executive John Hammond. This disc also features additional songs most of which recorded for (but never released on) Springsteen's first four albums.
  • Disc 2 consists of material from 1979 to 1983, taken primarily from the recording sessions of The River, Nebraska, and Born In The U.S.A.. Springsteen describes this disc as "almost the completely other album from 'The River'."
  • Disc 3 consists of material from 1982 to 1987, taken primarily from the recording sessions of Born In The U.S.A. and Tunnel Of Love.
  • Disc 4 consists of material from 1989 to 1998, taken primarily from the recording sessions of Human Touch.
Bruce Springsteen -- Tracks
Bruce Springsteen -- Tracks

Disc 1 (CD format):

1.MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSASRecorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY
2.IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITYRecorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY
3.GROWIN' UPRecorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY
4.DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET?Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY
5.BISHOP DANCEDRecorded live on 31 Jan 1973 at Max's Kansas City, New York City, NY
6.SANTA ANARecorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY
7.SEASIDE BAR SONGRecorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY
8.ZERO AND BLIND TERRYRecorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY
9.LINDA LET ME BE THE ONERecorded on 28 Jun 1975 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY
10.THUNDERCRACKRecorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY
11.RENDEZVOUSRecorded live on 31 Dec 1980 at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
12.GIVE THE GIRL A KISSRecorded on 10 Nov 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY
13.ICEMANRecorded on 27 Oct 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY
14.BRING ON THE NIGHTRecorded on 13 Jun 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
15.SO YOUNG AND IN LOVERecorded on 06 Jan 1974 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY
16.HEARTS OF STONERecorded on 14 Oct 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY
17.DON'T LOOK BACKRecorded on 02 Jul 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY

Disc 2 (CD format):

1.RESTLESS NIGHTSRecorded on 11 Apr 1980 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
2.A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH)Recorded on 05 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
3.ROULETTERecorded on 03 Apr 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
4.DOLLHOUSERecorded on 21 Aug 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
5.WHERE THE BANDS ARERecorded on 09 Oct 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
6.LOOSE ENDSRecorded on 18 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
7.LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLDRecorded on 07 Dec 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
8.WAGES OF SINRecorded on 10 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
9.TAKE 'EM AS THEY COMERecorded on 10 Apr 1980 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
10.BE TRUERecorded on 21 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
11.RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWNRecorded on 16 Jul 1979 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY
12.I WANNA BE WITH YOURecorded on 31 May 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
13.MARY LOURecorded on 30 May 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
14.STOLEN CARRecorded on 26 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
15.BORN IN THE U.S.A.Recorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ
16.JOHNNY BYE-BYERecorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA
17.SHUT OUT THE LIGHTRecorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA

Disc 3 (CD format):

1.CYNTHIARecorded on 20 Apr 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
2.MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWNRecorded on 05 May 1982 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
3.THIS HARD LANDRecorded on 11 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
4.FRANKIERecorded on 14 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
5.TV MOVIERecorded on 13 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
6.STAND ON ITRecorded on 16 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
7.LION'S DENRecorded on 25 Jan 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY
8.CAR WASHRecorded on 31 May 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
9.ROCKAWAY THE DAYSRecorded on 03 Feb 1984 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
10.BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGES ('83)Recorded on 04 Sep 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
11.MAN AT THE TOPRecorded on 12 Jan 1984 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
12.PINK CADILLACRecorded on 31 May 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
13.TWO FOR THE ROADRecorded in February 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ
14.JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEARTRecorded on 16 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
15.WHEN YOU NEED MERecorded on 10 Jan 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
16.THE WISHRecorded on 22 Feb 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
17.THE HONEYMOONERSRecorded on 22 Feb 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
18.LUCKY MANRecorded on 04 Apr 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY

Disc 4 (CD format):

1.LEAVIN' TRAINRecorded on 27 Feb 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, CA
2.SEVEN ANGELSRecorded on 29 Jun 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, CA
3.GAVE IT A NAMERecorded on 24 Aug 1998 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ
4.SAD EYESRecorded on 25 Jan 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA
5.MY LOVER MANRecorded on 04 Dec 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA
6.OVER THE RISERecorded on 07 Dec 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA
7.WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUTRecorded on 06 Dec 1990 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA
8.LOOSE CHANGERecorded on 31 Jan 1991 at Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA
9.TROUBLE IN PARADISERecorded on 01 Dec 1989 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA
10.HAPPYRecorded on 18 Jan 1992 at A & M Studios, Los Angeles, CA
11.PART MAN, PART MONKEYRecorded in January 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA
12.GOIN' CALIRecorded on 29 Jan 1991 at A & M Studios, Los Angeles, CA
13.BACK IN YOUR ARMSRecorded on 12 Jan 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY
14.BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGERecorded on 22 May 1995 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA

Other Official Releases

In addition to its release as a B-side and its inclusion on Tracks, the official studio version of STAND ON IT (the 1985 single edit) also appears on one Bruce Springsteen promo-only sampler. The song was also included on two various artists albums.

Bruce Springsteen -- Killer Bs (From The USA)
Bruce Springsteen -- Killer Bs (From The USA)

MC - CBS (CDNT 239) - Canada, 1985

Canada-only promotional cassette tape sampler compiling 10 Springsteen single B-sides.

A1- HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN
A2- PINK CADILLAC
A3- SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN [Live 12 Dec 1975 version]
A4- JOHNNY BYE-BYE
A5- BE TRUE
B1- JERSEY GIRL [Live 09 Jul 1981 version]
B2- SHUT OUT THE LIGHT
B3- TRAPPED [Live 06 Aug 1984 version]
B4- STAND ON IT
B5- JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART
Various artists -- Ruthless People - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various artists -- Ruthless People - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

LP - Epic (E 40398) - USA, 1986
CD - Epic (EK 40398) - USA, 1986
MC - Epic (SET 40398) - USA, 1986
Various artists -- Ready Player One - Songs From the Motion Picture
Various artists -- Ready Player One - Songs From the Motion Picture

CD - WaterTower Music / Universal / Decca (6758940) - USA, 2018

Other versions of STAND ON IT were also officially released.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Sept 27, 1985
The live 27 Sep 1985 version of STAND ON IT was released on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Sept 27, 1985 official live download in 2019.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Ippodromo Delle Capannelle, Rome 2013
The live 11 Jul 2013 version of STAND ON IT was released on the Ippodromo Delle Capannelle, Rome 2013 official live download in 2015.

Live History

SECTION NOT YET COMPLETED

Appearance in Movies

Bruce Springsteen's official studio version of STAND ON IT appears in two movies.

Promotional poster for the film "Ruthless People"
Ruthless People

It was used in the 1986 film Ruthless People, directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker and starring Danny DeVito, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, and Bette Midler. The song was included on the film's soundtrack album.
Promotional poster for the film "Ready Player One"
Ready Player One

It was used in the 2018 film Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn. The song was also included on one of the film's two soundtrack albums.

STAND ON IT plays about 30 minutes in during a scene involving a race.

Covers

At least 4 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's STAND ON IT.

Mel McDaniel -- Just Can't Sit Down Music
Mel McDaniel -- Just Can't Sit Down Music

LP - Capitol Records (ST-12528) - USA, 1986
MC - Capitol Records (4XT 12528) - USA, 1986
The Razorbacks -- Home Of The Razorbacks
The Razorbacks -- Home Of The Razorbacks

CD - Fury Records (FCD 3061) - UK, 2001

This is a live album.
Butch Wax And The Hollywoods -- Butch Wax And The Hollywoods
Butch Wax And The Hollywoods -- Butch Wax And The Hollywoods

CD - unknown label (unknown catalog number) - USA, 2004
New Jordal Swingers -- NJS Live! (Remastered)
New Jordal Swingers -- NJS Live! (Remastered)

Digital album - Universal (unknown catalog number) - Norway, 2014

This is a download-only digital live album. Includes three Bruce Springsteen covers: FROM SMALL THINGS (BIG THINGS ONE DAY COME), PINK CADILLAC, and STAND ON IT.

Available Versions

List of available versions of STAND ON IT on this website:

STAND ON IT [Official studio version]
STAND ON IT [Live 13 Sep 1985 version]

Page last updated: 02 May 2018