CHILD BRIDE

Home demo version

Friday night's pay night, guys fresh out of work
Talking about the weekend, trying to scrub off the dirt
Some heading home to their families, some wearing trouble on their shirts
Some driving down to Stovall just looking to get hurt

I work for the county out on 95
Just holding that red flag, watching the traffic pass me by
All day I keep a picture of my baby in my head
At night I dream I'm with her, laying in my bunkhouse bed

Seen her at the canteen down at the Legion Hall
She come in with her brothers, standing back up against the wall
Me and her we'd go walking down by the winding tracks
Well one day I looked straight at her and she looked straight back

Grey clouds stretch across the white moon
Sitting in the backyard in my old car, we hum out of tune

Well I saved my money and I put it all away
I went to see her daddy, we didn't have much to say
He said, "Now son can't you see she's just a little girl
Who don't know nothing 'bout the meanness in this world"

Took off down into Florida, yeah we got along all right
One day her brothers came and got her and they took me in black and white

Prosecutor kept his promise that he made on that day
Well she was sad and that judge was mad, they put me straight away
Well they said she was too young, she was no younger than I've been
When she put her arms around me and the night close in

Well sometimes I dream of getting out of here, heading down towards them old tracks
I swore I'd come and get her but I know I ain't never going back

There's nights I can't sleep no matter how hard I try
So from my window I watch the moonlight fall on the far hillside
I imagine I put on my jacket, go down to this little roadside bar
Pick a stranger and spin around the dance floor to a Mexican guitar

PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Info

CHILD BRIDE is a song written by Bruce Springsteen. The above lyrics are for a home demo version of CHILD BRIDE recorded in late December 1981 or early January 1982. The song has not been officially released.

Studio Recording

SECTION NOT YET COMPLETED

Bootleg Releases

This home demo version of CHILD BRIDE can be found on several bootlegs including The Lost Masters Vol. 1 (Labour Of Love) [track 14].

Bruce Springsteen -- The Lost Masters Vol. 1 (Labour Of Love)

Live History

As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed CHILD BRIDE live.

Covers

At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's CHILD BRIDE.

Various artists -- The Nebraska Sessions - A Tribute

CD - Clubhouse Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2012
Digital album - Clubhouse Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2012

This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album, available in downloadable digital form and on CD. The digital version contains two tracks not found on the CD issue. CHILD BRIDE is performed by Pete Gow. The song is one of the tracks found only on the digital version.

Credits / References

Thanks Carol Prattn for the lyrics help. Some of the above info is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of CHILD BRIDE on this website:

Page last updated: 29 Mar 2024