AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS)

Studio version

41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

41 shots, Lena gets her son ready for school
She says "On these streets, Charles
You've got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you, promise me you'll always be polite
And that you'll never ever run away
Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in sight"

Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it in your heart, is it in your eyes
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, I got my boots caked in this mud
Baptized in these waters (we're baptized in these waters)
And in each other's blood (and in each other's blood)

Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

Page last updated: 30 Aug 2008

After The Reunion Tour, Springsteen entered the studio with The E Street Band in March 2001 -- their first sessions together since Jan 1995. The spring 2001 sessions were produced by Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin and recorded by Toby Scott. Several songs (titles unconfirmed) were recorded during these sessions, but only one has been released: AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS).

The song was recorded at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY, on 02 Mar 2001, produced by Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin. The 5:14 studio recording of the song was never available commercially and only appeared on an extremely rare US-only 1-track radio promotional CD-R single in 2001. This take is only slightly different to the released live version, lacking the "41 shots" intros sung by various band members, and fading out during Clarence's sax solo. The above lyrics are for that version.

List of available versions of AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) on this website:

• Live 01 Jul 2000 version (more details)
• Studio version
• Live 17 Jun 2000 version
• Live 30 Jul 2002 version

Thanks Peter for the scans.