Bruce Springsteen

Released: October 17, 1980

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Bruce Springsteen Little Steven Jon Landau

Do you still say your prayers, little darling?
Do you go to bed at night
Praying that tomorrow
Everything will be alright?
But tomorrows fall in number
In number one by one
You wake up and you're dying
You don't even know what from

Well, they shot you point blank
You been shot in the back
Baby, point blank
You been fooled this time, little girl, that's a fact
Right between the eyes
Baby, point blank
Right between the pretty lies that they tell
Little girl, you fell

You grew up where young girls
They grow up fast
You took what you were handed
And left behind what was asked
But what they asked, baby, wasn't right
You didn't have to live that life
I was gonna be your Romeo
You were gonna be my Juliet
These days you don't wait on Romeos
You wait on that welfare cheque
And on all the pretty little things that you can never have
And all the promises

That always end up point blank
Shot between the eyes
Point blank
Like little white lies you tell to ease the pain
You're walking in the sights, girl
Of point blank
And it's one false move
And baby, the lights go out

Once I dreamed we were together again
Baby, you and me
Back home in those old clubs
The way we used to be
We were standing at the bar
It was hard to hear
The band was playing loud
And you were shouting something in my ear
You pulled my jacket off
And as the drummer counted four
You grabbed my hand
And pulled me out on the floor
You just stood there and held me
Then you started dancing slow
And as I pulled you tighter
I swore I'd never let you go
Well, I saw you last night
Down on the avenue
Your face was in the shadows
But I knew that it was you
You were standing in the doorway
Out of the rain
You didn't answer
When I called out your name
You just turned and then you looked away
Like just another stranger waiting to get blown away

Point blank
Right between the eyes
Point blank
Right between the pretty lies you fell
Point blank
Shot straight through the heart
Yeah, point blank
You've been twisted up
'Til you've become just another part of it
Point blank
You're walking in the sights
Point blank
Living one false move
Just one false move away
Point blank
They caught you in their sights
Point blank
Did you forget how to love, girl?
Did you forget how to fight?
Point blank
They must have shot you in the head
'Cause point blank
Bang bang, baby, you're dead

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

Point BlankBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

The River