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IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY 
Album version
I had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra
I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova
I could walk like Brando right into the sun
Dance just like a Casanova
With my blackjack and jacket and hair slicked sweet
Silver star studs on my duds like a Harley in heat
When I strut down the street I could feel its heartbeat
The sisters fell back, said, "Don't that man look pretty"
The cripple on the corner cried out, "Nickels for your pity"
Them gasoline boys downtown sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city
I was the king of the alley, mama, I could talk some trash
I was the prince of the paupers crowned downtown at the beggar's bash
I was the pimp's main prophet, I kept everything cool
Just a backstreet gambler with the luck to lose
And when the heat came down and it was left on the ground
Devil appeared like Jesus through the steam in the street
Showin' me a hand I knew even the cops couldn't beat
I felt his hot breath on my neck as I dove into the heat
It's so hard to be a saint when you're just a boy out on the street
And the sages of the subway sit just like the living dead
As the tracks clack out the rhythm, their eyes fixed straight ahead
They ride the line of balance and hold on by just a thread
But it's too hot in these tunnels, you can get hit up by the heat
You get up to get out at your next stop but they push you back down in your seat
Your heart starts beatin' faster as you struggle to your feet
And you're out of that hole, back up on the street
And them south side sisters sure look pretty
The cripple on the corner cries out, "Nickels for your pity"
Them downtown boys, they sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city
So hard
Whoa, yeah, oh
Walking down some side street
With your back flat jacked up against some wall
Page last updated: 23 Apr 2013
Intro
Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is
the ninth (and closing) track on his 1973 debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
The above lyrics are for Springsteen's studio version of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY as
released on Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
Composition and Recording
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was recorded during the Greetings From
Asbury Park, N.J. album recording sessions at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. The track,
as well as the whole album, was produced by Mike Appel and Jimmy Cretecos. According to Sony's
database of Springsteen recording sessions, the song was cut on 26 Jun, 27 Jun, and 26 Oct 1972.
Bruce Springsteen recorded solo on 26 June, but he brought in Vini Lopez, David Sancious, and
Garry Tallent the following day. It is not clear in which arrangement the song was recorded on 26
October. Springsteen plays guitar and sings vocals on the officially released album version of the
song, and is backed by Vini Lopez on drums, David Sancious on piano, and Garry Tallent on electric
bass. This means that the album version of DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET was probably recorded
on 27 Jun 1972, or possibly on 26 Oct 1972 if Springsteen recorded with the band on that day. The
original recording of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was longer but was faded out a few
seconds earlier when mixed for the album release. See the
unedited studio version for more details.
A solo acoustic guitar demo of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed and recorded
during Springsteen's first formal studio audition for CBS Records on 03 May 1972. See the
03 May 1972 demo version and the
"1971-1972 Auditions" section below for more details. This take was released on the
Tracks box set in 1998. An unreleased studio demo of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY
is also in circulation, likely recorded during the May-Jun 1972 demo sessions at Pocketful Of
Tunes Studios in New York City, NY. See the
studio demo for more details.
Bruce Springsteen was in favour of including
VISITATION AT FORT HORN on Greetings From Asbury
Park, N.J. instead of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY, but Mike Appel thought it was too
folky an pushed for IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY instead. "'Saint in the City' was so
great," he told Charles R. Cross in a 1990 interview published in issue #34/35 (Fall 1990/Winter
1991) of Backstreets magazine.
"I had to convince him of that one. I had to throw a fit to get him to go with that."
1971-1972 Auditions
On 04 Nov 1971, Carl "Tinker" West, then-manager of The Bruce Springsteen Band,
drove Bruce Springsteen to New York City to introduce him to Mike Appel, a songwriter who carried
on his songwriting activities jointly with Jim Cretecos. Appel was then employed at Pocketful Of
Tunes Inc., Wes Farrell's publishing company in New York City, NY, and the meeting to place at
Pocketful Of Tunes. Springsteen performed two or three songs, some on piano and some on acoustic
guitar. Only Appel and West were present at this first meeting. Appel has stated in interview that
he was not particularly impressed by what he heard at this initial audition but did see raw
creativity in the lyrics of BABY DOLL. That performance was not recorded and the titles of the
other song(s) performed remain unclear. Appel indicated an interest in promoting them in some way
and the meeting ended with an agreement to keep in touch but
no commitments from either party.
Meanwhile Springsteen continued gigging with The Bruce Springsteen Band in New
Jersey and Virginia and visited his family in California for a few weeks around the holidays. The
next meeting between Springsteen and Appel took place on 14 Feb 1972. Springsteen performed a set
of seven songs at Appel's office at Pocketful Of Tunes. The songs were performed live solo on
acoustic guitar to an audience of three: Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, and Bob Spitz. Unfortunately
that performance was not recorded. IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed a second time
at the request of Appel who reportedly was dazzled the lyrics. After that performance Appel and
Cretecos began putting the wheels in motion to sign Springsteen to a comprehensive range of
contracts.
- COWBOYS OF THE SEA
- THE ANGEL
- IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY [take #1, fast version]
- IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY [take #2, slow version]
- HOLLYWOOD KIDS
- IF I WAS THE PRIEST
- ARABIAN NIGHTS
- FOR YOU
In March 1972, it was agreed that Appel and Cretecos would promote
Springsteen's interests. For that purpose, Appel and Cretecos formed three partnerships owned
equally by the two: Laurel Canyon Management to act as Springsteen's manager, Laurel Canyon
Productions to cover his recording activities, and Sioux City Music Inc to cover his songwriting
activities. In the meantime, Springsteen entered into an "Exclusive Management Contract" with
Laurel Canyon Management and an "Exclusive Recording Contract" with Laurel Canyon Productions, but
did not sign any songwriting agreement at this time, apparently wishing to think this matter over
a bit longer. The two contracts were signed at Appel's office.
Appel wanted to sign Springsteen to Columbia Records. He could not arrange a
meeting with label head Clive Davis but was able to arrange one with CBS A&R Manager and
talent scout John Hammond. An informal private audition took place around 10:30 AM on 02 May 1972
in Hammond's office in the A&R Department at Columbia Records in New York City. John Hammond
and Mike Appel were the only two present at the audition. All songs were performed on acoustic
guitar and the performance, which lasted about 30 to 40 minutes, was not recorded but based on the
collective recollections of the attendees at least the following four songs were played:
- GROWIN' UP
- IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY
- MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS
- IF I WAS THE PRIEST
In a 1980 interview, Hammond mentioned he wasn't all that enamored with MARY
QUEEN OF ARKANSAS, but that he loved all the other songs that Springsteen performed that morning.
"It was a big, big day for me," Springsteen told Mark Hagen in an interview for Mojo
magazine published in January 1999. "I was twenty-two and came up on the bus with an acoustic
guitar with no case which I'd borrowed from the drummer from The Castiles. I was embarrassed
carrying it around the city. I walked into [John Hammond's] office and had the audition and I
played a couple of songs and he said, 'You've got to be on Columbia Records. But I need to see you
play. And I need to hear how you sound on tape.'"
Springsteen said that he and Mike Appel "walked all around the Village trying
to find some place that would let somebody just get up on stage and play. We went to the Bitter
End, it didn't work out. We went to another club. And finally we went to the old Gaslight on
MacDougal Street and the guy says, 'Yeah, we have an open night where you can come down and play
for half an hour'. There were about 10 people in the place and I played for about half an hour."
The performance took place at the Gaslight Au Go Go club in New York City. No recording has
emanated from this club appearance which lasted about 30 minutes and included just 4 or 5 songs.
Both Springsteen and Appel have mentioned these two tracks as having been played:
- GROWIN' UP
- IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY
John Hammond was impressed. "The kid absolutely knocked me out," he told
Newsweek in 1975. "I only hear somebody really good once every ten years, and not only
was Bruce the best, he was a lot better than Dylan when I first heard him." As Springsteen
recalled, Hammond said, "Gee, that was great. I want you to come to the Columbia Recording Studio
and make a demo tape". He invited Springsteen back to CBS to make a studio demo audition tape the
following day. Springsteen said, "A demo I made at Bill Graham's studio in San Francisco in '69
was the only other time I'd ever been in a real recording studio. Columbia was very old-fashioned:
everybody in ties and shirts; the engineer was in a white shirt and a tie and was probably 50, 55
years old, it was just him and John and Mike Appel there, and he just hits the button and gives
you your serial number, and off you go. I was excited. I felt I'd written some good songs and this
was my shot. I had nothing to lose and it was like the beginning of something."
Springsteen's first "formal" studio audition for CBS took place on 03 May 1972
at CBS Studios in New York City. The session consisted of 12 songs. Click on any of the below
links for more details.
Four of the tracks recorded during that demo session would be officially
released in 1998 on the Tracks box set. John Hammond's introduction of the audition was
kept intact at the start of
MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS which
opens the box set. Hammond was prepared to sign Bruce on the spot but administrative formalities
within CBS meant that it would take several weeks for that to become reality. According to Clinton
Heylin's 2012 book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street
Band, Hammond send Clive Davis a dub of the audition and a memo saying: "Here is a copy of a
couple of the reels of Bruce Springsteen, a very talented kid who recorded these twelve songs in a
period of around two hours last Wednesday... I think we better act quickly because many people
heard the boy at The Gaslight so that his fame is beginning to spread." Davis responded the next
day, "I love Bruce Springsteen! He's an original in every respect. I'd like to meet him if you can
arrange it."
Springsteen told Mark Hagen, "I knew a lot about John Hammond, the work he'd
done, the people he'd discovered, his importance in music and it was very exciting to feel you
were worth his time. No matter what happened afterwards, even it was just for this one night, you
were worth his time. That meant a lot to me. He was very encouraging – simply being in that room
with him at the board was one of my greatest recording experiences."
According to Heylin, Hammond thought that Springsteen might be better off on
the Epic subsidiary, but Mike Appel intercepted: "[Hammond] decided that Bruce should be with the
younger people at Epic and not with the stodgier, older people at Columbia – and he got this in
his head. I always felt that Columbia was the classiest label on the planet. I just always saw
[Bruce's] record going round on that red label, just like Dylan's did."
About a week following the audition, Springsteen entered into an "Exclusive
Songwriting Contract" with Sioux City Music Inc and a new/revised "Exclusive Management Contract"
with Laurel Canyon Management. The two contracts were signed at the office of New York attorney
Jules Kurz, a sole practitioner specializing in music and entertainment law who was then handling
Appel and Cretecos' business affairs. This new management agreement replaced the one from March
and made changes in remuneration and compensation rates between the parties; it was a better deal
for Springsteen than the previous one.
Following the signing of the agreements, Springsteen began a series of demo
sessions for Sioux City Music Inc in May and June 1972. The session took place at two locations in
New York City: Wes Farrell's Pocketful Of Sounds Studios where Appel was then still employed, and
the apartment of Jim Cretecos. There were multiple sessions held at each location and the session
dates at the two locations may have actually intertwined. Cretecos' apartment was utilized due to
the limited availability of the studio at Pocketful Of Sounds. Cretecos was an electronics
engineer and was able to emulate a reasonable recording environment in his apartment, so much so
that it is difficult to distinguish some of the recordings Bruce made in Cretecos' apartment from
those made in a professional studio.
On 09 Jun 1972 Laurel Canyon Productions (describing itself as Laurel Canyon
Productions Inc) entered into a recording agreement with CBS Records. This meant that Springsteen
was not signed directly to CBS, but his services were subcontracted to CBS by Laurel Canyon. Under
the recording agreement, all individual recordings made by Springsteen under the CBS agreement
remained the property of Laurel Canyon Productions until such point that they were assigned and
transferred to CBS. This contract was signed by CBS at CBS Records offices and by Mike Appel at
Laurel Canyon Productions offices. Bruce Springsteen signed it too, on the hood of a car in a
dimly lit bar parking lot in New York City. Appel had him sign it as a matter of courtesy and as a
matter of endorsement – from a legal standpoint it was not necessary that Springsteen signs this
agreement as the "Exclusive Recording Agreement" between him and Laurel Canyon Productions did not
grant him the right to block or refuse this contract between Laurel Canyon Productions and CBS.
The contract was varied in August 1972 to also cover the master tapes of certain songs which had
been recorded prior to the date of the agreement.
Mike Appel and Jimmy Cretecos later decided to change their business structure
and model. They wanted to cease the partnership model and incorporate their businesses with the
two having a 50/50 split in shares of the new incorporated business entities. These matters did
not involve Springsteen – his signature or permission was not required. Laurel Canyon Productions
(the sound recordings partnership) became Laurel Canyon Limited (incorporated) on 28 Jun 1972,
Sioux City Music Inc (the songwriting partnership) became Sioux City Music Limited (incorporated)
on 05 Oct 1972, and Laurel Canyon Management (the management partnership) became Laurel Canyon
Management Limited (incorporated) on 05 Mar 1973. The three new companies were incorporated in New
York and Appel and Cretecos were appointed the first directors. Appel and Cretecos wanted to
change the name of Sioux City to Laurel Canyon in order to have name consistency among their
family of companies, so on 24 Apr 1973 Sioux City Music Limited changed its name to Laurel Canyon
Music Limited. In January 1974 Jimmy Cretecos sold his 50% shareholding in each of the Laurel
Canyon companies to Mike Appel, thus Appel becoming the sole owner of the companies.
Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
After signing the contract with CBS Records, Laurel Canyon Productions was to
receive an immediate cash advance from CBS and this money was to be used to pay for the studio
time to record Springsteen' debut album. A delay by CBS in delivering the advance money to Laurel
Canyon Productions resulted in delaying the sessions till early July 1972. During June Springsteen
had finalized the selection of the musicians that would be used for the initial sessions. The
musicians chosen, with an ok from Appel and Cretecos, constituted the entire lineup of the former
Bruce Springsteen Band: David Sancious on keyboards, Gary Tallent on bass, Vini Lopez on drums,
and Steve Van Zandt on quitar. Van Zandt ended up partaking in almost none of the 914 Sound
Studios band sessions because of a prior commitment to tour as a member of The Dovells backing
group.
The recording sessions for Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. spanned a
period of five months, from early June to late October 1972 (the majority were in June), and they
all took place at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. The core "band" sessions were completed in
only about two weeks. No unreleased band recordings from the debut album sessions have surfaced.
Following these band sessions the various band members scattered. It should be noted that
Springsteen had not decided to form a touring band at this stage.
Springsteen spent the next few weeks recording solo material. It was during
this period that differences of opinion surfaced about what material was going to dominate the
eventually released album. There were two sides in this disagreement: Mike Appel and John Hammond
wanted a solo-dominated LP while Jim Cretecos was in favor of a band-dominated one. Springsteen
was undecided at first, but soon sided with Cretecos. Appel later said that he was so impressed by
Bruce's lyrics and told him, "Who needs a band when you can write lyrics like that?" In early
August a compromise was reached and the album track selection was decided upon, featuring five
band recordings
(DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET,
GROWIN' UP,
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY,
FOR YOU, and
LOST IN THE FLOOD) and five solo recordings
(THE ANGEL,
MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS,
JAZZ MUSICIAN,
ARABIAN NIGHTS, and
VISITATION AT FORT HORN). On 10 Aug 1972
Laurel Canyon transferred the sound recording copyrights to these ten songs to CBS. It seemed the
album was finalized, but when then CBS president Clive Davis listened to the tracks he commented
that not only did he prefer the band tracks, but he also felt the album lacked a potential hit
single. In essence Davis was siding with Springsteen's vision of the album as being more
rock-orientated.
In August 1972 Springsteen composed two more commercial-sounding songs,
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT and
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT. Consequently a further
"band" session was required. However both Sancious and Tallent, then-employed at Alpha Sound
Studios in Richmond, NJ, were unable to return to New York to record. Bruce wished to incorporate
saxophone in both new songs and contacted Clarence Clemons, a then-member of Norman Seldin &
The Joyful Noyze. So the studio session lineup for these two songs was Clemons, Lopez, and
Springsteen who played all other instruments, except for the piano on
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT which was handled by
Harold Wheeler. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT and
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT were completed by early
September. These two band recordings bumped three solo recordings:
JAZZ MUSICIAN,
ARABIAN NIGHTS, and
VISITATION AT FORT HORN. Therefore the final
album was reduced from 10 tracks to 9, encompassing 7 band tracks and 2 solo tracks. Columbia
Records' original intention was to release the album in late November 1972, but decided the album
might get overlooked among the massive amount of pre-Christmas releases so the LP was held back
for until early January.
Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. was released on Columbia Records on
05 Jan 1973. It was produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos. The album received mixed but mostly
positive reviews and some critics found it under-produced, as Appel and Cretecos tried to spend as
little as possible from Columbia's $65,000 advance and recording budget. The album sold 25,000
copies only in its first year of release and did not chart until the summer of 1975 when the hype
over the BORN TO RUN single attracted buyers to
Springsteen's earlier albums.
[Click thumbnail to enlarge/reduce artwork]
The album features 9 new Springsteen compositions and clocks at 37:08.
Other Official Releases
In 1978, IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was included on Last American Hero
From Asbury Park, N.J., a Japan-only promotional LP sampler issued to promote Springsteen's
fourth album Darkness On The Edge Of Town, though strangely including tracks from his
first three albums only. This release has catalogue number CBS/SONY YAPC 95 and is one of the
rarest Springsteen records ever.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed track listing]
In 1982, IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was included on Storia E Musica Rock:
Bruce Springsteen, an Italy-only cassette tape sampler issued exclusively with domestic
magazine Storia E Musica Rock and compiling 7 tracks from Springsteen's first four
albums. This release has catalogue number CBS ROCK 05.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed track listing]
In 1996, IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was included on Interview With Bruce
Springsteen, a Germany-only promotional 2-CD set featuring 16 Springsteen tracks interspersed
with segments from an exclusive interview for German radio station "Radio Eins" conducted in Los
Angeles in February 1996. This set was released in a cardboard gatefold sleeve and has catalogue
number COL SAMPCD 3184 9.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed track listing]
The
03 May 1972 demo version of IT'S HARD TO
BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was released on the Tracks box set in 1998, the
live 18 Nov 1975 version was released on
Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 CD and DVD in 2005, the
live 07 Jul 1978 version was released on
the Live/1975-85 box set in 1986, and video of the
live 08 Dec 1978 version was released in
2010 on Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut (a DVD that's included in The Promise: The
Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set). See each of the versions for more details.
Live History
As far as it's known, IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed live
for the first time on 02 May 1972 at the Gaslight Au Go Go club in New York City (read the
"1971-1972 Auditions" section above for more details).
[Click here
to display/hide detailed 1972 off-tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is known to have been performed at least 4
times during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. Very little is known about the
1972 and 1973 shows, and therefore, the song must've been played on some more dates. On this tour,
the song was played in a full-band album-style arrangement.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed known Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is known to have been performed at least 38
times during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. Some of that
period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some
more dates. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement that evolved from the
Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour, album-style version at the beginning of the tour
to the traditional full-band version, with a guitar finale at the end, by the end of the tour. The
version from 23 Nov 1974 in Salem, MA, is unique in that it features an outro rap. See the
live 23 Nov 1974 version for more
details. A "police siren" sound effect prop was used at the end of the song duriung some shows in
November 1974.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed known The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is known to have been performed at least 72
times during the Born To Run Tour: 53 times during the 1st leg (73 know dates / 81 known
shows, between July and December 1975) and 19 times during the 2nd leg (35 know dates, between
March and May 1976). The 1976 portion of the tour would soon be nicknamed the "Chicken Scratch
Tour" by the road crew because of the high proportion of secondary market, southern state
locations. Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must
have been played on some more dates during the Born To Run Tour; it may have been a
stable number during the 2nd leg. On this tour, the song was played in its traditional full-band
arrangement. While the guitar ending of the song had been developed by the end of The Wild,
The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour, it was on the Born To Run Tour (with
Steve Van Zandt having newly joined the band) that the Bruce/Steve guitar dueling outro, which is
played during this song to this day, was developed. Audio and video for the complete 18 Nov 1975
show at Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, was released in 2005 on the Hammersmith Odeon,
London '75 CD and DVD. See the
live 18 Nov 1975 version for more
details.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed known Born To Run Tour performances list]
Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the
tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and
producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to
Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of
Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original
agreement. Bruce replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his
management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of
trust, and undue influence. Appel countersued on 29 Jul 1976 in New York State Supreme Court,
asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce
Springsteen and The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a
new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was
enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This
would drag for about a year. Meanwhile, Springsteen continued gigging, and in the process broke
his self-imposed rule of not playing the larger arenas. This was basically because he was not able
to put a record out, and it was the only way his fans would be able to hear him at all. The tour
became known as the "Lawsuit Tour".
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is known to have been performed at least
two times during the Lawsuit Tour: 0 times during the 1st leg (29 known dates, between
August and November 1976) and 2 times during the 2nd leg (33 known dates, between February and
March 1977); these were the last two of the tour's dates. Some of that period's setlists are
incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the
Lawsuit Tour. On this tour, the song was played in its traditional full-band
arrangement.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed known Lawsuit Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is known to have been performed at least 20
times during the 111-date-long Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour. A few setlists from
that period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more
dates during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour. On this tour, the song was played in
a its traditional full-band arrangement. The live 07 Jul 1978 performance in West Hollywood, CA,
was officially released on the Live/1975-85 box set in 1986. See the
live 07 Jul 1978 version for more
details. Video for the complete 08 Dec 1978 concert in Houston, TX, was released on the
Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut DVD in 2010. See the
live 08 Dec 1978 version for more
details.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed known Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is known to have been performed at least
twice during the 138-date-long The River Tour, both at the very end of the tour. A few
setlists from that period are incomplete, and therefore, the song may have been played on some
more dates during The River Tour, but that's very unlikely. On this tour, the song was
played in a in its traditional full-band arrangement.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed known The River Tour performances list]
After disappearing from Springsteen's repertoire for 15 years, IT'S HARD TO BE
A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed 7 times during the 128-date-long The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo
Acoustic Tour, all in November 1996 in New Jersey and May 1997 in Europe. On this tour, the
song was played in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed twice during the
132-date-long The Reunion Tour, both towards the end of the tour. The song was played in
its traditional full-band arrangement during this tour.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed The Reunion Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed 5 times during the
120-date-long The Rising Tour. The song was played in its traditional full-band
arrangement. Performances on this tour featured a lengthy piano-driven outro instead of the
traditional guitar outro.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed The Rising Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed 3 times during the Devils
& Dust Solo Acoustic Tour. The first of the three performances was in a solo acoustic
guitar arrangement (see the
live 03 Aug 2005 version), while the
latter two (the last two dates of the tour) were in a dramatic new solo arrangement with electric
guitar and bullet mic (see the
live 22 Nov 2005 version).
[Click here
to display/hide detailed Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed 5 times during the
100-date-long Magic Tour. The song was played in its traditional full-band arrangement.
The first performance, from 04 Nov 2007 in Cleveland, OH, was the only of the tour and the last
ever to feature Danny Federici on organ; all remaining performances on the tour featured Charles
Giordano.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed Magic Tour performances list]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was performed 5 times during the
83-date-long Working On A Dream Tour. The song was played in its traditional full-band
arrangement.
[Click here
to display/hide detailed Working On A Dream Tour performances list]
Appearance in Movies
Director John Sayles used five Bruce Springsteen songs in the soundtrack of his
1983 movie Baby It's You. These were
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY,
THE E STREET SHUFFLE,
JUNGLELAND, SHE'S THE ONE, and
ADAM RAISED A CAIN. Sayles told
Backstreets magazine that year,
"We sent him the script and he really liked it. He sent his manager to see it and then Bruce said
we could have [the songs]. We didn't even have to pay a whole bunch of money for them. I was
really honored." The relation continued through the years, as Sayles would direct Springsteen's
videos for BORN IN THE USA in 1984 and
I'M ON FIRE and GLORY DAYS in
1985. Bruce would later record LIFT ME UP for John Sayles' 1999
film Limbo.
Contrary to common beliefs, Baby It's You was not the first theatrical
film ever to feature the music of Bruce Springsteen. The first was Dead End Street
(Kvish L'Lo Motzah in Hebrew), a 1982 Israeli film directed by Yaky Yosha.
Plot: The film is about a romance between an upper middle class Jewish girl named Jill
Rosen (Arquette), who is bound for Sarah Lawrence College, and a blue-collar Italian boy nicknamed
the Sheik (Spano) in late 1966 New Jersey, who aspires to follow in Frank Sinatra's footsteps. The
movie follows their high school experiences during their romance: Jill's success in high school
acting productions, Jill's rebuffing Sheik's sexual advances, Sheik's one-night stand with a
sexually active friend of Jill's, and a subsequent suicide attempt by that friend.
Starring: Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Joanna Merlin, Jack Davidson
Directed by: John Sayles
Produced by: Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson
Written by: John Sayles (screenplay), Amy Robinson (story)
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release date: 04 Mar 1983
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Covers
Very few artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's IT'S HARD TO BE A
SAINT IN THE CITY, most notably David Bowie. See
David Bowie's cover version for more
details.
David Bowie -- Sound + Vision
6-LP - Rykodisc (RALP 0120-2, RALP 0121-2, RALP 0122-2) - USA, 1989
3-CD + CD-Video - Rykodisc (RCD 90120, RCD 90121, RCD 90122, RCDV 1018) - USA, 1989
David Bowie's cover of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY was also included on the various
artists Bruce Springsteen tribute album One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce
Springsteen. See
David Bowie's cover version for more
details.
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Dante -- Music 2f2
CD - Independent (unknown catalogue number) - Canada, 2007
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Tom Brooksby -- Brooksby Does Bruce
CD - unkown label (unknown catalogue number) - UK, 2009
This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album.
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Various artists -- For You 2: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen
2-CD - Route 66 Music (DTCDA005-2) - Italy, 2010
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY is performed by Riccardo Maffoni on this various artists
Bruce Springsteen tribute album.
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Available Versions
List of available versions of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY on this
website:
Credits / References
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for all the help.
Thanks Carlo Bondi for the Storia E Musica Rock: Bruce Springsteen cassette tape scan.
Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances is
taken from Brucebase.
Request
I am looking for higher resolution scans of the 1996 German "Interview With
Bruce Springsteen" promotional 2-CD set. Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are
welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email:
. You will be credited. Thanks in
advance.
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![Bruce Springsteen -- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. [album cover art]](../../lyrics_files/1973_greetings/greetings_tn.jpg "Bruce Springsteen -- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. [album cover art]")
![Bruce Springsteen -- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. [album cover art]](../../lyrics_files/1973_greetings/greetings.jpg "Bruce Springsteen -- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. [album cover art]")