Bruce Springsteen

Released: April 24, 2001

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Ron Aniello Brendan O’Brien Bruce Springsteen

[Intro]
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)

[Verse 1]
Forty-one shots and we'll take that ride
Across the bloody river to the other side
Forty-one shots cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

[Chorus]
Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet? This is your life
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
No secret, my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

[Post-Chorus]
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)

[Verse 2]
Forty-one shots, Lena gets her son ready for school
She says, "On these streets, Charles
You've got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you promise me you'll always be polite
And that you'll never ever run away
Promise Mama, you'll keep your hands in sight"

[Chorus]
Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet? This is your life
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
No secret, my friend
You get killed just for living in your American skin

[Post-Chorus]
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)
(Forty-one shots)

[Guitar Solo]

[Chorus]
Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it in your heart? Is it in your eyes?
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)

[Verse 3]
Forty-one shots and we'll take that ride
Across this bloody river to the other side
Forty-one shots I got my boots caked in this mud
We're baptized in these waters (We're baptized in these waters)
And in each other's blood (And in each other's blood)

[Chorus]
Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet? This is your life
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (It ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You get killed just for living in
You get killed just for living in
You get killed just for living in your American skin

[Outro]
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)
Forty-one shots (You get killed just for living)

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.

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