Bruce Springsteen

Released: October 17, 1980

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Bruce Springsteen Little Steven Jon Landau

[Verse 1]
Well, there she sits, buddy, just a gleaming in the sun
There to greet a working man when his day is done
I'm gonna pack my pa and I'm gonna pack my aunt
I'm gonna take them down to the Cadillac Ranch

[Verse 2]
Eldorado fins, whitewalls, and skirts
Rides just like a little bit of heaven here on earth
Well buddy, when I die, throw my body in the back
And drive me to the junkyard in my Cadillac

[Chorus 1]
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Open up your engines, let 'em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur

[Verse 3]
James Dean in that Mercury '49
Junior Johnson runnin' through the woods of Caroline
Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans-Am
All gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch

[Chorus 1]
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Open up your engines, let 'em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur

[Verse 4]
Hey, little girlie in the blue jeans so tight
Drivin' alone through the Wisconsin night
You're my last love, baby, you're my last chance
Don't let 'em take me to the Cadillac Ranch

[Chorus 2]
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Pulled up to my house today
Came and took my little girl away

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

The River

From the album

The River (1980)

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Cadillac RanchBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

The River