Unofficial studio version
...Four
My name is James Lucas, I was born in Remington
And paroled from Richfield Prison in the winter of '81
I was freed on the streets of Indiana, I'd just turned 32
Same man with nowhere left to run, no different, sir, than you
Me and Pat, we married in the spring, moved in with her Ma and Pa
On our wedding night she sighed, "Jimmy, we can have anything we want."
It was for those things we wanted, we worked as hard as two people could
But somehow in the end, mister, this didn't do no good
The prison got me driving delivery for Mr. Wills over in Ridgeside
Well I started loading a little extra and I'd sell it on the side
I didn't like what I was doing, I didn't lose no sleep at night
Mr. Wills he was a rich man, he'd been a rich man all his life
I was on the loading dock one evening when I heard the warehouse phone
A dispatcher said, "Jim, they wanna see you in the front office before you go home."
All Mr. Wills said was, "I don't understand, I could send you back to Richfield fast.
If you needed some extra money, Jim, all you had to do was ask."
Well that night me and Pat we had a fight, I was out driving 'round in the rain
With a fifth of gin and a half tank of gas and ten dollars to my name
I passed a deserted liquor store way out on Highway One
I turned and pulled into that parking lot, got out but I let my motor run
Well I stood looking in the window for a long, long while
When I walked in the man behind the register, he looked at me and smiled
"That's some weather we're having out there. Can I help you find something, friend?"
I didn't answer, I just stood there, then I turned and I went
I don't know how long I sat in my driveway, my shirt was covered in sweat
The house was dark when I went in, Pat was lying awake in bed
She hit the light, I was standing in the doorway, she said, "I was worried, where you been so long?"
I felt her arms around me, she said, "Jimmy, I'm so glad you're home."
Richfield Prison stands on a high hill where the county line runs out
There's a whistle that blows every time a man comes in or a man gets out
At night we lay wrapped in each other's arms listening to the rain
I heard that Richfield whistle blowing, just blowing in my dreams
RICHFIELD WHISTLE is an unreleased song written by Bruce Springsteen. The above lyrics are for the only studio take of RICHFIELD WHISTLE in circulation.
The song appeared in a 2022 filing at the United States Copyright Office. See the "Copyright Filings" section below form more details.
According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, RICHFIELD WHISTLE was recorded on 23 Apr 1983 at Thrill Hill West, Springsteen's home studio in Los Angeles, CA. The studio take in circulation was most probably cut on 23 Apr 1983. The song was also cut with the band on 27 May and 10 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory in New York City, NY.
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
This version of RICHFIELD WHISTLE can be found on several bootlegs, including The Lost Masters Vol. 18 (Labour Of Love) [track 14] and The Lost Masters Essential Collection Vol. 1 (Labour Of Love) [disc 2, track 08.
As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed RICHFIELD WHISTLE live.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's RICHFIELD WHISTLE.
Thanks Neil (Five Stubbs) for the lyrics help.
If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of RICHFIELD WHISTLE on this website:
RICHFIELD WHISTLE [Unofficial studio version]
