Bruce Springsteen

Released: October 17, 1980

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Bruce Springsteen Little Steven Jon Landau

[Verse 1]
You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on to an open road, you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay

[Verse 2]
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath, they built the roads they'd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay

[Chorus]
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay

[Verse 3]
Now they come so far and they've waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of the day
And you've gotta stand and fight for the price you pay

[Chorus]
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay

[Bridge]
Little girl, down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land?
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river, he stayed
To face the price you pay

[Outro]
So let the game start, you better run, you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay
And girl, before the end of the day
I'm gonna tear it down and throw it 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

The Price You PayBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

The River