Bruce Springsteen

Released: June 2, 1978

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Jon Landau Bruce Springsteen

[Verse 1]
In the summer that I was baptized
My father held me to his side
As they put me to the water
He said how on that day I cried

[Pre-Chorus 1]
We were prisoners of love, a love in chains
He was standin' in the door I was standin' in the rain
With the same hot blood burning in our veins

[Chorus]
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain

[Verse 2]
All of the old faces
Ask you why you're back
They fit you with position
And the keys to your daddy's Cadillac

[Pre-Chorus 2]
In the darkness of your room
Your mother calls you by your true name
You remember the faces, the places, the names
You know it's never over it's relentless as the rain

[Chorus]
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain

[Verse 3]
In the Bible brother Cain slew Abel
And East of Eden mama he was cast
You're born into this life paying
For the sins of somebody else's past

[Pre-Chorus 3]
Daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain
Now he walks these empty rooms looking for something to blame
But you inherit the sins, you inherit the flames

[Chorus]
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain

Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain
Adam raised a Cain

Bruce Springsteen is a rock ‘n’ roll icon from the great state of New Jersey. Nicknamed “The Boss,” he’s known for spirited sax-powered anthems about working-class people making their way in the world. Backed by the trusty E Street Band, he’s sold more than 120 million records, won numerous awards (including 20 Grammys and an Oscar), sold out stadiums around the globe, and earned a place alongside his teenage heroes in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Although he’s a living legend who ranks among the most important artists in rock history, Springsteen wasn’t an overnight success. Around the time of his first album, 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., he was dismissed as just another “new Dylan"—some scruffy folk singer with a decent vocabulary looking to follow in Bob’s footsteps. In the decade that followed, Springsteen proved himself to be much more.

His breakthrough came with his third album, 1975’s Born to Run. The record hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and landed the singer-songwriter on the cover of both Time and Newsweek. Bruce nabbed his first chart-topping album five years later with The River, and in 1984, he went global with Born in the U.S.A., a critical and commercial smash that produced seven Top 10 singles.

more tracks from the album

Darkness on the Edge of Town

From the album

Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)

Bruce Springsteen popular songs

Adam Raised a CainBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Darkness on the Edge of Town