ROBERT FORD AND JESSE JAMES^©

Robert Ford and Jesse James were like brothers
Together they would loot the ??? trains
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Acoustic home demo recorded in Bruce's home in Colts Neck, NJ, between late-Mar and early-Apr 1981, during a break in The River tour. Like many other home demos from that period, it is spoiled by some unintelligible and bluffed vocals. The track appears on the Fist Full Of Dollars and How Nebraska Was Born bootlegs.

According to the How Nebraska Was Born liner notes, Bruce later split this song into two: ROBERT FORD and JESSE JAMES (read liner notes below).

Liner notes from the How Nebraska Was Born bootleg booklet:

Following an idea coming from his early days (The Ballad Of Jesse James was a demo dated 1971 and taped by The Bruce Springsteen band), Bruce develops a track very close to "The River". He's listening a lot of country music and it's evident. He will come back to this song later, slipping it in two different tunes: "Jesse James" from the '50 outlaw and "Robert Ford" like the man who killed him.