SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE

Official studio version

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Came into town with a pocketful of songs
I made the rounds but I didn't last long
Now I'm out on this highway with a bone-cold chill
Here somewhere north of Nashville

I lie awake in the middle of the night
Making a list of things that I didn't do right
With you at the top of a long page filled
Here somewhere north of Nashville

For the deal I made the price was strong
I traded you for this song

We woke each morning with hearts filled
Bluebird of love on the windowsill
Now the heart's unsteady, thе night is still
And all I've got's this melody and time to kill
Hеre somewhere north of Nashville
Here somewhere north of Nashville

(Ooh ooh ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh ooh ooh-ooh)
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)

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Info

The above lyrics are for a studio version of SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE (referred to on this website as the "official studio version") that was first released on the Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set in 2025.

This version of SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE was recorded in summer 1995. See the "Somewhere North Of Nashville" section below for more details.

Track credits:

Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar
Patti Scialfa: vocals and background vocals arrangement
Max Weinberg: drums
Charles Giordano: piano
Kaveh Rastegar: bass
Marty Rifkin: pedal steel guitar
Soozie Tyrell: background vocals

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
Bob Ludwig: mastering engineer
James Brown: additional engineering

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.

Somewhere North Of Nashville

Somewhere North Of Nashville is a 12-track album was eventually released in 2025 as one of the seven "lost albums" included on the Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set.

According to a press release, the album is a "collection inspired by the sounds of honky tonk, rockabilly and uptempo country." Somewhere North Of Nashville was recorded simultaneously with The Ghost Of Tom Joad in the summer of 1995 and features much of the core band at the heart of those sessions, including Danny Federici, Garry Tallent and Gary Mallaber, with added elements like pedal steel from Marty Rifkin and fiddle from Soozie Tyrell. The press release claims that the album "saw Springsteen spontaneously cutting material live in the studio with a full band."

"What happened was I wrote all these country songs at the same time I wrote 'The Ghost of Tom Joad.' Those sessions completely overlap each other. I'm singing 'Repo Man' in the afternoon and 'The Line' at night. So the country record got made right along with 'The Ghost of Tom Joad.' Very similar to 'Born in the U.S.A.' and 'Nebraska,'" Springsteen recalled. "'Streets of Philadelphia' got me connected to my socially conscious or topical songwriting. So that's where 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' came from. But at the same time I had this country streak that was also running through those sessions and I ended up making a country record on the side."

According to the album's credits, Somewhere North Of Nashville was recorded at "Thrill Hill Beverly Hills, CA" and "Stone Hill Studio, NJ".

• "Thrill Hill Beverly Hills, CA" is a recording studio Springsteen has set up at his residence on Tower Lane in Beverly Hills, CA. He purchased the estate in 1990 and used the studio between 1990 and, as far as it's known, as late as 1997 or 1998.
• "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.

This indicates that the material on Somewhere North Of Nashville was mostly recorded in the summer of 1995 recorded at Thrill Hill Beverly Hills and some work was later done at Stone Hill Studio prior to the release of the Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set.

Available Versions

List of available versions of SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE on this website:

SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE [Album version]
SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE [Official studio version]
SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE [Live April 2019 version]

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Page last updated: 08 Jul 2025