Released: June 2, 1978
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
Producer: Jon Landau Bruce Springsteen
[Verse 1]
Lights out tonight, trouble in the heartland
Got a head-on collision smashin' in my guts, man
I'm caught in a crossfire that I don't understand
But there's one thing I know for sure, girl
I don't give a damn for the same old played-out scenes
Baby, I don't give a damn for just the in-betweens
Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul, I want control right now
You better listen to me, baby
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Talk about a dream, try to make it real
You wake up in the night with a fear so real
You spend your life waiting for a moment that just don't come
Well, don't waste your time waiting
[Chorus]
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
[Verse 2]
Workin' in the fields till you get your back burned
Workin' 'neath the wheel till you get your facts learned
Baby, I got my facts learned real good right now
You better get it straight, darling
Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied till he rules everything
I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got
[Pre-Chorus 2]
Well I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the faith that could save me
I believe in the hope and I pray that some day
It may raise me above these
[Chorus]
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
[Guitar & Saxophone Solos]
[Verse 3]
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me
I wanna find one place, I wanna spit in the face of these
[Chorus]
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay
Keep movin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
[Outro]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Lights out tonight, trouble in the heartland
Got a head-on collision smashin' in my guts, man
I'm caught in a crossfire that I don't understand
But there's one thing I know for sure, girl
I don't give a damn for the same old played-out scenes
Baby, I don't give a damn for just the in-betweens
Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul, I want control right now
You better listen to me, baby
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Talk about a dream, try to make it real
You wake up in the night with a fear so real
You spend your life waiting for a moment that just don't come
Well, don't waste your time waiting
[Chorus]
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
[Verse 2]
Workin' in the fields till you get your back burned
Workin' 'neath the wheel till you get your facts learned
Baby, I got my facts learned real good right now
You better get it straight, darling
Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied till he rules everything
I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got
[Pre-Chorus 2]
Well I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the faith that could save me
I believe in the hope and I pray that some day
It may raise me above these
[Chorus]
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
[Guitar & Saxophone Solos]
[Verse 3]
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me
I wanna find one place, I wanna spit in the face of these
[Chorus]
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand as the price you've gotta pay
Keep movin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
[Outro]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands, whoa whoa whoa whoa
The River
- The River
- I Wanna Marry You
- Point Blank
- I’m a Rocker
- Fade Away
- Stolen Car
- Ramrod
- The Price You Pay
- Drive All Night
- You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
- Crush on You
- Out in the Street
- Hungry Heart
- Sherry Darling
- Cadillac Ranch
- The Ties That Bind
- Jackson Cage
- Two Hearts
- Independence Day
- Wreck on the Highway
- Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)
- Greatest Hits (1995) (1995)
- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003)
- Greatest Hits (2009) (2009)
- Chapter and Verse (2016)
- Blinded by the Light (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2019)
- Born in the U.S.A.
- Born to Run
- Dancing in the Dark
- I’m On Fire
- Thunder Road
- Blinded by the Light
- The River
- Atlantic City
- Hungry Heart
- Jungleland
- Glory Days
- Badlands
- My Hometown
- Streets of Philadelphia
- Backstreets
- The Ghost of Tom Joad
- Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
- Secret Garden
- Racing in the Street
- Nebraska
- I’m Goin’ Down
- Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
- Growin’ Up
- The Rising