LIVING PROOF

Album version



Well now on a summer night oh in a dusky room
Come a little piece of the Lord's undying light, crying like he swallowed the fiery moon
In his mother's arms it was all the beauty I could take
Like the missing words to some prayer well that I could never make
Oh in a world so hard and dirty, so fouled and confused
Searching for a little bit of God's mercy, I found living proof

Well I put my heart and soul, babe, I put 'em high upon a shelf
Right next to the faith, the faith that I'd lost in myself
I went down into the desert city yeah just trying so hard to shed my skin
I crawled deep into some kind of darkness looking to burn out every, every trace of who I'd been
You do some sad sad things, baby, oh when it's you you're trying to lose
You do some sad and hurtful things, I seen living proof

You shot through my anger and rage
To show me my prison was just an open, open cage
There were no keys, no guards
Oh just one frightened man and some old shadows for bars

Well now all that's sure on the boulevard
Is that life is just a house of cards
As fragile as each and every breath
Of this boy sleeping in our bed
Tonight let's lie beneath the eaves, babe
It' just a close band of happy thieves
And when that train comes we'll get on board
And steal what we can from the treasures, treasures of the Lord
It's been a long long drought, baby, tonight the rain's pouring down on our roof
Oh looking for a little bit of God's mercy, I found living proof
Oh living proof
I found living proof
Yeah living proof
I found living proof
Oh living proof
I found living proof
Oh living proof
Yeah I found living proof
I found living proof
I found living proof
Oh yeah


Info

LIVING PROOF is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 1992 album Lucky Town. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of LIVING PROOF as released in 1992.


The album version of LIVING PROOF was included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003 edition) compilation album, the Chapter And Verse compilation album, and the Best Of Bruce Springsteen (digital edition) compilation album.

Writing and Recording

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Lucky Town

The Human Touch recording sessions were completed by early 1991 and the album was planned to be released in the spring of that year. However Bruce Springsteen decided to hold off the release and he continued to write more songs during the spring and summer of 1991. The recording sessions for what later became Lucky Town spanned a period of about five months, from late summer 1991 to very early 1992. It would appear that they began in September 1991 at Springsteen's Los Angeles home studio and were then augmented at A&M Studios later in 1991. Chuck Plotkin has implied that about 15 songs were complete during this session period, which means there are likely only a handful of undocumented songs from these sessions still in the vaults. These mid to late 1991 sessions were not originally intended to produce a stand-alone album — the songs were meant to be added to the ones recorded in 1990 and then the complete body of material would be sieved to produce one album. However, Springsteen unusually decided to release two different albums, Human Touch and Lucky Town, at the same time.

Lucky Town was recorded between September 1991 and January 1992 at Thrill Hill West (Springsteen's home studio in Los Angeles, CA) and A&M Studios in Los Angeles, CA. The album was recorded by Toby Scott, mixed by Bob Clearmountain, and mastered by Bob Ludwig. It was produced by Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, and Chuck Plotkin. Roy Bittan is credited as a fourth co-producer of tracks 05, 06, and 07. Lucky Town was released on Columbia Records on 31 Mar 1992, the same day as Human Touch.

Bruce Springsteen -- Lucky Town
Bruce Springsteen -- Lucky Town

Lucky Town features 10 tracks and clocks at 39:38.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen

The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released as part of Sony BMG'S (previously Sony Music Entertainment) series of "Essential" sets. According to Springsteen's liner notes comments, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour.

The collection is fundamentally a 2-disc set (clocking at 153:37) compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Live In New York City release. A 3-disc limited edition (clocking at 201:04) was also released. It includes a bonus third disc comprising of a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen was released on 11 Nov 2003 on Columbia Records. It debuted and peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart where it spent 13 weeks. It also reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records by the RIAA on 16 Dec 2003.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003 edition)
Bruce Springsteen -- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003 edition)

The Essential Bruce Springsteen was reissued on 16 Oct 2015, this time as a 2-disc set (clocking at 156:25) with an updated track list, compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Greatest Hits (1995 edition) collection. This 2015 reissue features remastered tracks not found in that form on other Springsteen releases.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2015 edition)
Bruce Springsteen -- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2015 edition)

Chapter And Verse

Chapter And Verse is a Bruce Springsteen compilation album released on Columbia Records on 23 Sep 2016 in the U.S. It was officially announced on 28 Jul 2016. The album is an audio companion to Springsteen's autobiography Born To Run, which was published four days later, on 27 Sep 2016, by Simon & Schuster.

The album is a career retrospective consisting of 18 tracks. It spans almost half a century of Springsteen's career, from as early as 1966. According to the press release, Springsteen selected the songs to reflect the themes and sections of the autobiography. The first five tracks have not been previously released.

Tracks 1 and 2 are from The Castiles era, track 3 is from the Steel Mill era, and track 4 is from The Bruce Springsteen Band era. Tracks 5 and 6 are Springsteen solo, from around the time he signed his record deal with CBS. The remaining 12 tracks are compiled from 12 different Bruce Springsteen studio albums, from 1973 to 2012. All song were written by Bruce Springsteen, except tracks 1 (co-written by Bruce Springsteen and George Theiss) and track 2 (written by Willie Dixon). Track 2 is only song on the album recorded live.

Bruce Springsteen -- Chapter And Verse
Bruce Springsteen -- Chapter And Verse

Chapter And Verse is available as a single-disc CD and as a double-disc LP, as well as digital download and streaming.

Best Of Bruce Springsteen

Best Of Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released on Columbia Records on 19 Apr 2024. The album is collection of original songs spanning Springsteen's entire career, from 1973 to 2020. The release was officially announced on 01 Mar 2024.

Two variants of the album were released: the 18-track physical releases and an expanded 31-track download-only version. The physical releases include a single-disc CD and as a two-disc LP set. Four editions of the vinyl release were issued: a regular edition on black vinyl, an Atlantic Blue vinyl exclusive to Europe, a Highway Yellow vinyl exclusive to independent retailers, and a Jersey Devil Red vinyl exclusive to Amazon Music.

Bruce Springsteen -- Best Of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen -- Best Of Bruce Springsteen

Other Official Releases

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Other versions of LIVING PROOF were also officially released.

Bruce Springsteen -- Meadowlands July 25, 1992
The live 25 Jul 1992 version of LIVING PROOF was released on the Meadowlands July 25, 1992 official live download in 2019.
Bruce Springsteen -- In Concert / MTV Plugged
The live 22 Sep 1992 version of LIVING PROOF was released on the In Concert / MTV Plugged home video in 1992 and album in 1993.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Boston 13/12/92
The live 13 Dec 1992 version of LIVING PROOF was released on the Boston 13/12/92 official live download in 2021.
Bruce Springsteen -- Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey June 24, 1993
The live 24 Jun 1993 version of LIVING PROOF was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey June 24, 1993 official live download in 2018.

Live History: on-tour

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Live History: off-tour

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Covers

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At least 3 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's LIVING PROOF.

The Roulette Rockers -- State Trooper
The Roulette Rockers -- State Trooper

CD-R EP - no label (no catalog number) - Holland, 1996

This is a live Bruce Springsteen tribute EP, issued by the Bruce Springsteen Dutch fanclub for their annual "Springsteen Day". Only fifty copies were pressed. The songs were recorded on 05 Oct 1996 at Flint in Amersfoort, The Netherlands.
Joe Slomp -- Introducing Joe Slomp
Joe Slomp -- Introducing Joe Slomp

CD - RamiLaiDad (CD-012061-01) - Italy, 2000
Various artists -- Springsteen Session 2011
Various artists -- Springsteen Session 2011

2xCD - B Street Productions / Suisa (no catalog number) - Switzerland, 2012

This is a live Bruce Springsteen tribute album recorded on 11 Nov 2011 at Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche in Bäretswil, Switzerland. LIVING PROOF is performed by Booze & Guido Marzorati.

Available Versions

List of available versions of LIVING PROOF on this website:

LIVING PROOF [Album version]
LIVING PROOF [Live 13 Dec 1992 version]

Page last updated: 23 Aug 2016