AMERICAN BABYLON

Album version

A kid stole my car the other day
Broke in and drove it away
Took it for a joy ride and when he was done
Held up a liquor store with a great big gun
He said "I didn't do nothing wrong
It's just the way we live around here"
In American Babylon puttin' my protection on
Got everything I need, drugs, money, sex and greed
In American Babylon puttin' my blindfold on
In American Babylon
Well she ran out of money, she ran out of hope
She left the kids at home, went out to score some dope
The cops caught her selling it down on Broadway
The county came in and took the kids away
She said "they're better off without me"
In American Babylon puttin' my protection on
Got everything I need, drugs, money, sex and greed
In American Babylon puttin' my blindfold on
I can't tell right from wrong
In American Babylon
Who cares about the kids? (I don't)
Or what goes in their heads? (I don't)
Or if the poor are fed? (I don't)
Or if your neighbor's dead? (I don't)
I said do you really care? (I don't)
I said do you really care? (I don't)
I said do you really care? (I don't)
American Babylon puttin' my protection on
I got everything I need, drugs, money, sex and greed
In American Babylon I put my blindfold on
And I can't tell right from wrong
In American Babylon

Page last updated: 19 Oct 2011

Intro

AMERICAN BABYLON is a song written by Joe Grushecky and released on Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers' 1995 album American Babylon. Bruce Springsteen produced all the album except the title track, and he participated in the recording of most of the songs but not this one. However, he did play it live on a few occasions.

Recording Sessions

In late October and early November 1993, Bruce Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and Bob Clearmountain mixing) produced a recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Beverly Hills, CA. Off the session, two tracks would be released on Grushecky's next album, American Babylon: CHAIN SMOKIN' and NEVER BE ENOUGH TIME. Springsteen played guitars, keyboard, and percussion on the first track, and guitar on the second. In addition to Springsteen, Grushecky's backing band for this session consisted of musicians organized by Springsteen that he is believed to have utilized for some of his own scattered studio sessions during the period: Zack Alford on drums, Jerome Smith on bass, and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards. Although originally planned as a "one-off", this session with Grushecky turned out to be the start of a major side project undertaking for Springsteen.

Around February 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and Bob Clearmountain mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording. Off the session, one track would be released on American Babylon: HOMESTEAD, a song Springsteen and Grushecky had co-written together during the previous few months. Springsteen played guitar, harmonica, and mandolin on the track. In addition to Springsteen, Grushecky's backing band for this session consisted of musicians organized by Springsteen that he was utilizing for his own scattered studio sessions of the period: Shayne Fontaine on guitar, Zack Alford on drums, TM Stevens on bass, and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards.

Around August 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Rumson, NJ. Off the session, five tracks would be released on American Babylon: DARK AND BLOODY GROUND (with Bruce playing guitars and sharing harmony vocals), LABOR OF LOVE (with Bruce playing guitars and mandolin), WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR (with Bruce playing guitar), BILLY'S WALTZ (with Bruce playing mandolin), and ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (with Bruce playing guitar). The first was co-written by Springsteen and Grushecky. In addition to Springsteen, unlike the previous two sessions held on the west coast, the backing musicians for the east coast sessions consisted of The Houserockers, Grushecky's own Pittsburgh-based band.

Around October 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording. Off the session, three tracks would be released on American Babylon: COMIN' DOWN MARIA, TALK SHOW, and NO STRINGS ATTACHED. The Houserockers were again the session's backing band. But contrary to previous sessions, Springsteen did not play on any of these three recordings, although his wife Patti Scialfa provided backing vocals on the first track.

Although the album was essentially completed at this stage, and filed with the US Copyright Office on 13 Dec 1994, Grushecky had trouble finding an interested record company. "We got turned down by everybody, I mean everybody. That's another reason why it took so long [for release]; I didn't have any funding," Grushecky commented in an interview. "Right around the turn of the year [Dec 1994 - Jan 1995] Pinnacle UK became involved and we knew we had a home for the project".

The final overdubbing/mixing sessions for American Babylon took place around April 1995 at Thrill Hill Recording, and the album was released in October 1995 on Pinnacle Records, and reissued in 2004. The album's title track, AMERICAN BABYLON, is the only one not produced by Bruce Springsteen.

Album track listing:

1. DARK AND BLOODY GROUND
2. CHAIN SMOKIN'
3. NEVER BE ENOUGH TIME
4. AMERICAN BABYLON
5. LABOR OF LOVE
6. WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR
7. HOMESTEAD
8. COMIN' DOWN MARIA
9. TALK SHOW
10. NO STRINGS ATTACHED
11. BILLY'S WALTZ
12. ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

Excerpts from all American Babylon tracks (except TALK SHOW and BILLY'S WALTZ) appear on American Babylon In Conversation, a UK-only promotional CD featuring interviews with both Grushecky and Springsteen recorded on 29 Aug 1995 at Cheers in Long Branch, NJ.

Other Official Releases

A live recording of AMERICAN BABYLON (taken from one of the two October Assault Pittsburgh gigs, 20 or 21 Oct 1995) was released in 2009 on the A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story DVD. See the live Oct 1995 version for more details.

Live History

In October 1995, Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers kicked off the release of their American Babylon album with a six-stop tour dubbed the "October Assault." Introduced as "honorary Houserocker of the week" on the first night, Springsteen joined the band for the majority of the set on all six dates, playing guitar and sharing vocals with Grushecky. At each show, Springsteen came out for American Babylon's WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR and remained on stage for the rest of the set. AMERICAN BABYLON was performed every night during the Springsteen portion of the set.

[Click here to display/hide detailed October Assault performances list]

Springsteen also performed AMERICAN BABYLON on two more occasions, in 1995 and 1998, always with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers.

[Click here to display/hide detailed remaining performances list]

Available Versions

List of available versions of AMERICAN BABYLON on this website:

• Album version
• Live Oct 1995 version

Credits / References

Thanks Steen Andersson (rosalita101 at Greasy Lake) for the American Babylon album scan.

Most info on the recording sessions taken from Brucebase. Info about the October Assault Tour is taken from Backstreets magazine issue #50/51.

Request

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