LONELY TOWN

Official studio version

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There's a place where rain keeps falling, the skies are always gray
Silent houses, rain-swept sidewalks, empty night and day
There you'll find me, my collar turned against the evening wind
I walk the streets to the edge of town where a sign reads, my friend

Welcome to Lonely Town, welcome to Lonely Town
If love has let you down there's always a room to be found
Here in Lonely Town

Lipstick case lay on the sidewalk coloring blood red
Perfume drifts by on the night air and goes straight to my head
You come rushing back to me, the rustle of your skirt in the eaves
Then the darkness of your room, I wake and it's a dream

Welcome to Lonely Town, welcome to Lonely Town
If love has let you down there's always a room to be found
Here in Lonely Town

Bicycle bell comes ringing down the sidewalk, I look and nothing's there
The crack of a bat in the late summer heat leaves an echo in the air
I count the cracks on the sidewalk, stumble on an empty picture frame
There's a whisper drifting through the trees, I swear I hear your name

I awake, you're there beside me and I pull you close
In the morning, the bathroom mirror, all I see is love's ghost
Breakfast, work, and then the office, a cab through the evening mist
I climb the stairs, I walk through the door, a coolness in your kiss

Welcome to Lonely Town, welcome to Lonely Town
If love has let you down there's always a room to be found
Here in Lonely Town
Here in Lonely Town

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Info

LONELY TOWN is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and first released on the Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set in 2025. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's official studio version of LONELY TOWN as released in 2025.

The song first appeared in a 2022 filing at the United States Copyright Office. See the "Copyright Filings" section below for more details.

Writing and Recording

It's unknown when exactly LONELY TOWN was written and recorded, but likely sometime in the 2010's. See the "Twilight Hours" section below for more details.

Track credits:

Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards
Ron Aniello: keyboards
Aaron Embry: piano
Kaveh Rastegar: bass

Bruce Springsteen: producer
Ron Aniello: producer, recording engineer
Toby Scott: recording engineer
Rob Lebret: recording engineer
Ross Petersen: recording engineer
Bob Clearmountain: mixing engineer
Sergio Ruelas, Jr.: assistant mixing engineer
Ted Jensen: mastering engineer

Copyright Filings

In 2022, a "Recorded Document" consisting of 539 Bruce Springsteen "musical works" was filed at the United States Copyright Office. The two filings are related to Springsteen's late 2021 deal with Sony Music in which he sold the masters of his entire catalog and the coinciding music publishing rights. They show the transfer of the songs from Bruce Springsteen to Thrill Hill Music LLC and then from Thrill Hill Music LLC to Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC and Asbury Boss LLC. Thrill Hill Music LLC and Asbury Boss LLC are limited liability companies incorporated in September 2021 and October 2021 respectively and likely created for the deal.

Copyright entry #1:
Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V15007D317
Date of Recordation: 2022-05-13
Entire Copyright Document: V15007 D317 P1-13
Date of Execution: 01Nov21; 01Mar22
Title: 100 Miles From Jackson & 538 other titles; Musical Work.
Notes: Assignment.
Party 1: Bruce Springsteen
Party 2: Thrill Hill Music LLC
Links: List of titles
Names: Springsteen, Bruce | Thrill Hill Music LLC

Copyright entry #2:
Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V15007D318
Date of Recordation: 2022-05-13
Entire Copyright Document: V15007 D318 P1-14
Date of Execution: 22Nov21; 22Nov21
Title: 100 Miles From Jackson & 538 other titles; Musical Work.
Notes: Exhibit 10.1 Assignment
Party 1: Thrill Hill Music LLC
Party 2: Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC; Asbury Boss, LLC
Links: List of titles
Names: Thrill Hill Music LLC | Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC | Asbury Boss, LLC

Tracks II: The Lost Albums

Tracks II: The Lost Albums is Bruce Springsteen's follow-up to his 1998 box set Tracks, released on 27 Jun 2025. The box set consists of seven "lost albums" recoded between 1983 and 2018, totaling 83 songs, of which 74 have never been officially released in any form. The seven albums are: L.A. Garage Sessions '83, Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions, Faithless, Somewhere North Of Nashville, Inyo, Twilight Hours, and Perfect World.

Tracks II: The Lost Albums, along with its companion Lost And Found: Selections From The Lost Albums, was officially announced on 03 Apr 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (1:00 p.m. GMT). The announcement was accompanied by a "trailer" for the upcoming set, posted on Bruce Springsteen's YouTube channel and other online services. The previous day, Springsteen released a teaser on his social media accounts, linking to a new website, lostalbums.net, created for the two upcoming releases.

The box set is available in limited edition as a seven-disc CD set and a nine-disc LP set, as well as digital download and streaming. The physical releases will include original packaging for each of the previously unreleased records, with a 100-page cloth-bound, hardcover book featuring rare archival photos, liner notes on each lost album from essayist Erik Flannigan and a personal introduction on the project from Springsteen himself.

Twilight Hours

Twilight Hours is a collection of 12 songs that Springsteen wrote and worked on in tandem with 2019's Western Stars and eventually released in 2025 as one of the seven "lost albums" included on the Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set.

Twilight Hours is "an ode to the great American pop music tradition," as described in a press release. Springsteen described the collection as "romantic, lost-in-the-city songs."

In an online statement that accompanied the release of the SUNDAY LOVE single, Springsteen wrote in a statement:

"At one time, it was either a double record or they were part of the same record. But I separated the 'Western Stars' material out and what I had left is 'Twilight Hours.'"
- BS

Work on Western Stars stated "started in 2010... finished in 2014... finished again in 2018," according to producer Ron Aniello ─ see WESTERN STARS for more details. This means that Twilight Hours was worked on around the same period. Curiously, the album's artwork posted on lostalbums.net was tagged 30 Mar 2021.

According to the album's credits, Twilight Hours was recorded at "Stone Hill Studio, NJ" and "Thrill Hill Bellevue Avenue, NJ".

• "Stone Hill Studio, NJ" is a recording studio Springsteen has set up at his Stone Hill Farm, his residence and horse ranch on Muhlenbrink Road in Colts Neck, NJ. He purchased the property in 1994. He built a car garage on the property around 2007 and converted the garage to a studio in 2009 and has since been using it as a permanent recording facility.
• "Thrill Hill Bellevue Avenue, NJ" is a set of two recording studios Springsteen had set up at his former properties on Bellevue Avenue in Rumson, NJ. He purchased the first property in 1983 and in late 1986 he set up a recording studio in a garage apartment he called the "Carousel House" that he used until 2002. He purchased the second property in 1987 and set up a recording studio that he used since as early as 1993 until 2007, with a major upgrade being done in 2002.

This indicates that some of the material on Twilight Hours was recorded prior to 2009.

Live History

Bruce Springsteen has never performed LONELY TOWN live.

Covers

As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's LONELY TOWN.

Request

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Available Versions

List of available versions of LONELY TOWN on this website:

LONELY TOWN [Official studio version]

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Page last updated: 08 Jul 2025