Bruce Springsteen

Released: October 17, 1980

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Little Steven Bruce Springsteen Jon Landau

[Verse 1]
Well Papa, go to bed now, it's getting late
Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
I'll be leaving in the morning from St. Mary's Gate
We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow

[Verse 2]
'Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
But they can't touch me now and you can't touch me now
They ain't gonna do to me what I watched them do to you

[Chorus]
So say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day all down the line
Just say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day this time

[Verse 3]
Now I don't know what it always was with us
We chose the words, and yeah, we drew the lines
There was just no way this house could hold the two of us
I guess that we were just too much of the same kind

[Chorus]
Well say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day, all boys must run away
So say goodbye, it's Independence Day
All men must make their way come Independence Day

[Verse 4]
Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint
And the highway she's deserted clear down to Breaker's Point
There's a lot of people leaving town now, leaving their friends, their homes
At night, they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone

[Verse 5]
Well Papa, go to bed now, it's getting late
Nothing we can say can change anything now
Because there's just different people coming down here now and they see things in different ways
And soon everything we've known will just be swept away

[Chorus]
So say goodbye, it's Independence Day
Papa, now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
But won't you just say goodbye? It's Independence Day
I swear I never meant to take those things 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)

Bruce Springsteen popular songs

Independence DayBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

The River