THE RIVER

Live 21 Sep 1979 version

[Spoken intro:] This is uh... This is uh, this is a song, is called "The River". This is uh, this is new. This is uh, for my brother-in-law and my sister.

I come from down in the valley where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school when she was just seventeen
We'd drive out of this valley down to where the fields were green

We'd go down to the river and into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

Then I got Mary pregnant and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle, no flowers no wedding dress

We went down to the river and into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been no work on account of the economy
Then all them things that seemed so important, well mister they vanished right into the air
I just act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care

But I remember us riding in my brother's car, her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake and pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
Now them memories come back to haunt me, they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true or is it something worse

That sends me down to the river, though I know the river is dry
Oh down to the river tonight, ay yay yay
Down to the river, my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride
Ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh-ooh

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 21 Sep 1979 performance of THE RIVER at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, during the MUSE Concerts For A Non-Nuclear Future. The song was played in a full-band arrangement.

Ticket stub for the 21 Sep 1979 show at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY

Pass for the 19-23 Sep 1979 shows at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY

Video of the live 21 Sep 1979 version of THE RIVER was released on The Muse Concert - No Nukes home video in 1980. It was included on the Video Anthology / 1978-88 home video and the Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- compilation album. The video, with some backstage footage, was posted on Bruce Springsteen's VEVO YouTube channel in March 2015.

The MUSE Concerts

Shortly after the Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown in Pennsylvania in March 1979, a coalition of performers and activists opposed the use of nuclear power and founded Musicians United For Safe Energy (MUSE). The anti-nuclear group was the brainchild of four performers (Jackson Browne, John Hall of the 70's band Orleans, Bonnie Raitt, and Graham Nash) and four antinuclear activists (Sam Lovejoy, Howard Kohn, Tom Campbell, and David Fenton).

The group organized a series of five benefit concerts billed as the "MUSE Concerts For A Non-Nuclear Future", held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, from 19 to 23 Sep 1979. The goal of the concerts, and an accompanying 200,000-person rally staged in Battery Park City in New York City, was to spread awareness about the dangers of radioactive-fueled energy and to raise funds for an anti-nuclear / pro-solar campaign.

MUSE's Tom Campbell mentioned the subject to Bruce Springsteen on 03 Jun 1979 when the two met in Los Angeles at the wedding party of Springsteen's lighting director Marc Brinkman. However, it was Jackson Browne who later convinced Springsteen to join the bill for the MUSE concerts. He agreed on the condition that no politicians be given microphone time or money from the event's proceeds. He was the only musician who did not outline his reasons for joining the antinuclear movement in a short statement for publication in the MUSE program book. "Bruce felt that a statement wasn't appropriate - the music was enough," his manager, Jon Landau, explained.

The MUSE concerts program book

The list of acts invited to play at the event included Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash (who re-united Crosby, Stills & Nash for this one occasion), John Hall, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, James Taylor and Carly Simon, The Doobie Brothers, Jesse Colin Young, Gil Scott-Heron, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, among others.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were the highlight of the event. They performed on two nights; 21 and 22 Sep 1979. "The concerts Friday and Saturday night [21 and 22 Sep 1979] are different, and the reason is Bruce Springsteen", Daisann McLane wrote in Rolling Stone. "He has the kind of drawing power in the New York area that will pack a house for two nights in a row". The 21 Sep 1979 concert was the only sellout of the five nights. "The crowd is younger, and crazier; for the first time, I spot a few bloodied casualties being dragged down the aisles by security people. This is a Springsteen crowd, too, with little patience for preliminaries. On Friday [21 Sep 1979], Jesse Colin Young and Jackson Browne do short sets but fail to capture the allegiance of this revved-up bunch. Saturday [22 Sep 1979], Peter Tosh, who exuberantly performs twenty minutes of reggae, lopes back and forth across the stage in a burnoose and fares better, as does Tom Petty, who rocks hard but seems a little taken aback by the size of the stadium. This is a tough audience to crack. On Friday [21 Sep 1979], Chaka Khan leaves the stage in a huff. Seems she thought the audience was booing her; what she really heard was the sound of thousands of voices chanting Bruuuce! Bruuuce! [...] The crowd is his; fans are on their feet, standing on chairs from the first note, mouthing the words to every song. For the first time all week, it feels like something special is happening at Madison Square Garden. [...] The MUSE principals have been searching all week for the vibe, the feeling. Springsteen doesn't have to search for it; he walks onstage and it's there."

Rolling Stone magazine (issue #304, November 1979)

The MUSE concerts produced a 1980 theatrical movie release titled No Nukes, which includes Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's performances of THE RIVER (the live 21 Sep 1979 version), THUNDER ROAD (a mix of the live 21 Sep 1979 version and the live 22 Sep 1979 version), and a cover of Gary U.S. Bonds' QUARTER TO THREE (the live 22 Sep 1979 version). No Nukes was released on home video and a three-record live album was also created from the event. The album contains two Springsteen performances. His duet with Jackson Browne on STAY (the live 21 Sep 1979 version) was chosen for the album, but since the release was a three-record set, Springsteen was asked for a an additional track. According to Dave Marsh, the rendition of THUNDER ROAD was the one Springsteen, Browne, and Jon Landau wanted, but "playing 'Stay' over and over again, they heard and liked the transition, a particularly seamless one, from 'Stay' into the band's medley of Mitch Ryder hits 'Jenny Take a Ride' and 'Devil With a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly.' Finally, Landau suggested that the Detroit Medley was probably what should go on the record with 'Say.' The others agreed." DETROIT MEDLEY (the live 21 Sep 1979 version) became the second Springsteen track on the live album. The album was certified a gold record by the RIAA in September 1980. From the concert, record, and film, MUSE raised and donated over $1 Million to anti-nuclear and safe energy groups throughout the United States.

The No Nukes film includes live performances by James Taylor & Carly Simon, Bonnie Raitt, John Hall, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, and others. It also includes backstage footage and covers the behind the scenes work of the musicians to put together the MUSE concerts. The film was directed by Danny Goldberg, Anthony Potenza, and Julian Schlossberg. It was distributed by Warner Bros. and released in theaters on 18 Jul 1980.

In December 2018, the complete recordings of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band sets from both the 21 and the 22 Sep 1979 MUSE concerts were officially released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net (see the "Official Live Downloads" section below for more details). The audio was recorded live with the Record Plant mobile truck by David Hewitt and crew. It was mixed by Jon Altschiller from 2-inch, 24-track tape source, with additional engineering by Danielle Warman. STAY, RAVE ON, and portions of DETROIT MEDLEY from the first night were missing from the multi-track transfer and a two-track soundboard recording was used to complete the show. The shows were mastered to DSD and PCM by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, ME. $2 from each purchase of the release were donated to Musicians United For Safe Energy.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- No Nukes 1979

In November 2021, a 13-song selection from Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's sets from the 21 and the 22 Sep 1979 MUSE concerts were released on The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts home video and album.

Official Live Downloads

Prior to the High Hopes Tour, Bruce Springsteen's management announced a new service allowing fans to download concert recordings approximately 48 hours after each show. The initial plan required fans to purchase a special USB wristband, which could then be used to download a single High Hopes Tour show of the purchaser's choice and also functions as a regular reusable USB flash drive. The wristband, which could be purchased online or at the concert venue, was priced at $40. Following some negative response from fans over the high cost for the wristband, Springsteen's management subsequently announced a separate cheaper option for purchasing shows directly, without the need for the wristband. The shows were available for purchase and download via Live Nation, Bruce Springsteen's concert promoter, priced at $9.99 for MP3 and $14.99 for FLAC. Audio recordings for 31 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, and 03 May 2014) were released as such and they were available until 30 Jun 2014.

On 17 Nov 2014, Live.BruceSpringsteen.net was launched. It's a new addition to the official website, serving as an online store offering high-quality live concert recordings as well as high-resolution digital releases of Springsteen's album catalog. The download store is powered by Nugs.net in cooperation with Columbia Records. Audio recordings for 30 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, 03 May 2014, and 18 May 2014) were re-released on the new download store in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Nugs.net adopted the MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) format on 24 May 2017. From then on, all Bruce Springsteen live concert recordings, including the previously released ones, became also available in MQA.

Audio recordings for all 75 The River Tour 2016 dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Audio recordings for all 14 Summer '17 Tour dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Archival releases were periodically released on the same site, as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archive Series. These shows were also made available in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless FLAC or ALAC, 24-bit FLAC or ALAC or MQA, DSD, and audio CD-R. So far 90 shows (or sets of shows) were released from the ongoing series.

The Muse Concert - No Nukes Home Video

The Muse Concert - No Nukes home video was released in 1980 in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Japan. The film is now out-of-print and was not reissued on DVD or Blu-ray.

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

VHS - CBS/Fox Video (7065S-50) - Australia, 1983

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

VHS - Videoarts (VAVJ-158) - Japan, 1983

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

VHD - Victor / CBS / FOX Video (VHM 68065) - Japan, 1985

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

LD - Videoarts (VALJ-3158) - Japan, 1990

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

LD - Videoarts (VALZ-2075) - Japan, 1993

Various artists -- No Nukes - The Muse Concert

VHS - CBS/FOX Video (7065-50) - UK, 1983

Various artists -- No Nukes - The Muse Concert

LD - CBS/FOX Video (7065-70) - UK, 1983

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

VHS - CBS Video (CV600065) - USA, 1981

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

CED - CBS Video (CD 200065) - USA, 1981

Various artists -- The Muse Concert - No Nukes

LD - CBS/FOX Video (7065-80) - USA, 1983

Video Anthology Home Video

Video Anthology / 1978-88 is a collection of 18 Bruce Springsteen music videos and concert performances, released on VHS on 31 Jan 1989. The home video was also released on LaserDisc.

Bruce Springsteen -- Video Anthology / 1978-88 (USA VHS cover art)

Bruce Springsteen -- Video Anthology / 1978-88 (USA LaserDisc cover art)

Bruce Springsteen -- Video Anthology / 1978-88 (Japan LaserDisc cover art)

Sonny reissued the video on DVD on 16 Jan 2001. Titled The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000, the new expanded release added a second disc with 15 additional music video, concert performances, and television appearances.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000 (DVD cover art)

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- is a Bruce Springsteen compilation album released by Sony Music Japan in 2023. The compilation, which was exclusively released in Japan, consists of previously released 35 audio tracks and 62 video tracks. The collection is part of a 26-title reissue campaign to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's debut album. The series, issued in three waves (25 Oct 2023, 22 Nov 2023, and 20 Dec 2023), includes 25 albums originally released between 1973 and 2014 plus a new compilation album that includes all of Springsteen's singles released in Japan from 1975 to 1999. All audio CD's were manufactured using Sony Japan's Blu-spec CD2 format.

Bruce Springsteen -- Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-

Other Official Releases

This live 21 Sep 1979 version of THE RIVER was also released on the Blinded By The Light: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album in 2019.

Various artists -- Blinded By The Light: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

CD - Columbia Records / Legacy Recordings (19075955742) - USA, 2019
2xLP - Columbia Records / Legacy Recordings (19075955751) - USA, 2019

Appearance in Movies

Bruce Springsteen's live 21 Sep 1979 version of THE RIVER appears in one movie.

Blinded By The Light

It was used in the 2019 film Blinded By The Light, directed by Gurinder Chadha and starring Viveik Kalra. The song was also included in the film's soundtrack album.

See I'LL STAND BY YOU (the "Blinded By The Light" section) for more details.

Credits

Thanks Danny and Roberto for the No Nuke UK VHS scan.

Request

Please contact me if you have scans for or info about any official release containing Bruce Springsteen's live 21 Sep 1979 version of THE RIVER that's not mentioned on this page. Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: .

Available Versions

List of available versions of THE RIVER on this website:

Page last updated: 28 Oct 2021