ADAM RAISED A CAIN

Live 19 Feb 2003 version

[Spoken intro:] Thank you. These were songs that uh, the "Darkness" songs are songs that I always return to. They're still some of my favorite to play.

(talks about "Darkness"...)

But uh, "Adam Raised A Cain", that was religion, family, and somebody said that all rock angst boils down to [chuckle] daddy. And uh... of course you know that uh, a certain amount, that is true, yes. But uh... I was, was talking to Bob [Bob Coles] backstage and he said "man, those are early songs," yeah you know, and I, and I said "yeah, I hope I'm not boring you in 'you're born in this life paying for the sins of somebody else's past', and man, I didn't spend a dime on analysis at that point." [cheers] I wouldn't be as dumb as I look, you know. But uh, those are songs that I, I always go back to, they always hold something for me. And uh, I carry on with this, with this religion, fathers and sons, family... Once you start mixing all those things together you are... You're gonna deliver it, receive, and ask ???, so (chuckles)... Anyway, this was uh...

In the summer that I was baptized, my father held me to his side
As they put me into the water, he said how on that day I cried
We were prisoners of love, a love in chains
He was standin' there in the door, I was standin' in the rain
With the same hot blood running in our veins
Adam raised a Cain

Well all of the old faces they ask you why you're back
They fit you with position and the keys to your Cadillac
In the darkness of your room your mother calls you by your true name
You remember the faces, the places, the names
You know it's never over, it's relentless as the rain
Adam raised a Cain

In the Bible, mamma, Cain slew Abel, East of Eden, now he was cast
You're born into this life paying for the sins of somebody else's past
For the sins of somebody else's past
Now Daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain
How he walks these empty rooms looking for someone to blame
You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames
Adam raised a Cain

Yeah lost but not forgotten in the dark heart of a dream
Adam raised a Cain

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 19 Feb 2003 performance of ADAM RAISED A CAIN at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA, during the first of the two DoubleTake magazine benefit shows.

Promotional poster for the 19-20 Feb 2003 shows at Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA

Ticket stub for the 19 Feb 2003 show at Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA

DoubleTake Magazine Benefit

Founded by Harvard psychiatrist Robert Coles, DoubleTake magazine has been in business since 1995, but started facing financial problems a few years later. Springsteen's relationship with the publication goes back to late 1997 when he was interviewed by Will Percy (nephew of the late Walker Percy, a writer/novelist Springsteen admired) at Springsteen's farmhouse in Rumson, NJ. Part of the audio-recorded interview was printed in the March 1998 issue of the magazine. The interview is probably one of the most philosophical of Springsteen's career -- it dealt with the effect books and movies have on Springsteen's writing and the culture of celebrity, among other things. Springsteen also became friend with magazine founder Robert Coles when the two met in 1998. He praised his book A Secular Mind, and even attended one of his classes in Harvard. In November 2004 Coles published his book Bruce Springsteen's America - The People Listening, A Poet Singing.

Robert Coles -- Bruce Springsteen's America - The People Listening, A Poet Singing

Tickets for the two fundraisers were priced at $500 and billed as "An Intimate Evenings Of Music And Conversation With Bruce Springsteen". These were solo acoustic shows, played on acoustic guitar (or piano on a few songs), held at the small Somerville Theatre (900 seats capacity). Springsteen chatted between songs, and closed out each night with a Q&A session, taking questions from the audience. The unprecedented "conversation" element of the shows made them unique to Springsteen fans.

The almost one million dollars raised from the ticket sales went to the non-profit DoubleTake Community Service Organization Corporation, publishers of DoubleTake magazine, which owed $600,000 to vendors and contributors. "The concert was a success beyond our wildest dreams," managing editor Kirk Kicklighter commented, "[But] we never really had a plan for what we were going to do after the concert." By the fall of 2004, the magazine was no longer publishing, officially put on "hiatus".

Available Versions

List of available versions of ADAM RAISED A CAIN on this website:

Page last updated: 18 Jun 2015