SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT^©

Early outtake

One, two, three, four

Hmmm
Hey now, dada dada nana
Woahhh
Whooaa
Yeah yeah
Woahhh
Hey!

I'm riding down Kingsley figuring I'll get a drink
Turn the radio way up loud so I don't have to think
Yeah I take her to the floor looking for a moment when the world seems right
And I tear into the guts, hmmm, of something in the night

Well you're born with nothing, and better off that way
Soon as you've got something they send someone to come and take it away
You can ride this road 'till dawn without another human being in sight
Yeah and everybody's gone, yeah, chasing in the night*

Well nothing is forgotten or forgiven, when it's last time around
I got stuff running 'round my head that I just can't live down

When we found the things we loved, were crushed and dying in the dirt
We tried to pick up the pieces, and get away without getting hurt
Well they caught us at the state line, burned our cars in one last fight
And left us running burned and blind, hmmm, chasing something in the night

Woahhh
Woahhh
Woahhh
Woahhh
Woahhh
Yeah!

Page last updated: 03 Feb 2008

The above lyrics correspond to the outtake recorded in Jun-Jul 1977 at Atlantic Studios, New York City, NY. This version appears several bootlegs including The Lost Masters Vol. 2 (Labour Of Love), The Way (Scorpio), and The Genuine Tracks (Scorpio).

* This line is the main difference between this outtake and the album's version.

List of available versions of SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT on this website:

• Album's version (more details)
• Early outtake (slightly different to the album's version)
• Live 01 Aug 1976 version (very different to the album's version)
• Live 22 Aug 1976 version (close to the live 01 Aug 1976 version)
• Live 09 Oct 1976 version (very different to the album's version)
• Live 27 Oct 1976 version (very different to the album's version)
• Live 28 Oct 1976 version (very different to the album's version)
• Live 30 Oct 1976 version (different to the album's version)
• Live 04 Nov 1976 version (similar to the live 30 Oct 1976 version)
• Live 13 Feb 1977 version (different to the album's version)
• Live 14 Mar 1977 version (similar to the album's version)
• Live 19 May 1978 take #1 (similar to the album's version)
• Live 19 May 1978 take #2 (similar to the album's version)
• Live 31 May 1978 version (similar to the album's version)
• Live 18 Oct 2002 version (slightly different to the album's version)
• Live 07 Oct 2005 version (slightly different to the album's version)
  
• Aram's version (cover)
• Matthew Ryan's version (cover)

Liner notes from The Lost Masters Vol. 2 bootleg:

At 3 a.m. on May 28, 1977, a final settlement was reached in the infamous Bruce Springsteen vs. Mike Appel lawsuit. Though details of the settlement were never officially released, a "supposed" amicable settlement had been reached and the parties were barred from ever suing one another again. Less than a week later, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band entered Atlantic Records' new studio in Manhattan to begin recording what would eventually become "Darkness on the Edge of Town."

With Jon Landau at the helm and engineer Jimmy lovine also participating, initial sessions seemed to proceed smoothly. Dave Marsh claims that the first evening saw Bruce lay down no less than twenty demos of songs he had written during the lawsuit, including the already performed live tracks "Rendezvous," "Frankie," "The Promise," and "Something in the Night," plus several tracks destined to wind up on "Darkness," including the title track, and other unreleased tunes such as "Don't Look Back." Indeed, Columbia was so confident that Bruce and Landau could record quickly that plans were laid for a holiday release of the new LP. This was not to be, as the sessions at Atlantic ran into trouble.

The June-August sessions at Atlantic began to deteriorate for a number of reasons. Apparently, Bruce was unhappy with the drum sound and the studio was not very comfortable, which was an important consideration when it became apparent that the sessions would be continuing for many more months. Eventually, the sessions relocated to the Record Plant, where "Born to Run" was made.

Liner notes from The Genuine Tracks bootleg:

With more than two years of new songs to draw from, the Darkness On The Edge Of Town sessions produced hours of unreleased material, much of it every bit as good as what made it onto the finished album [...]

The versions of SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT and RACING IN THE STREET included here are tougher than the takes that were included on the final album, and offer interesting examples of how Bruce would adjust the tone of individual songs in order to get the effect he wanted for the album as a whole.