Lyrics

CHIMES OF FREEDOM

Live 01 Sep 1978 version


[Spoken intro:] I wanna try something, uh... why, what the hell, right? (chuckles) I got, I got, I wanna do this song that once again I don't know these words, we had just thought about doing this last night and so I'm gonna read the words, ok? ???... wait till you get how ridiculous this next move looks, where's that, where's that thing? (chuckles) Where's that thing? Where is it? You got it? Get ready for this, get ready for, like, high school, alright? (cheers) This is embarrassing (a music rack is brought onto the stage). ??? this is short, it's short. Alright uh... that's why I like this. This is, this is really wild. (chuckles) Now... this was one of my favorite songs... this will get in the way of rocking out ??? (chuckles). Here we go, here we go, alright, let's give it a shot, alright? Thanks you.

Alright!
??? promise

Well far between sundown's finish and midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sound
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing*

Well flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
And flashing for the refugees who run in the, in the night*
And for each and every underdog soldier in the night
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Now even though a cloud-like curtain in a far-off corner flashed*
And the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
The electric light struck like the arrows
Fired but for the ones condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting

That's right!

Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
And for each and every burned out soul placed inside a jail*
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Let's go!
[sax solo]

Now starry-eyed and laughing, as I recall when we were caught
Can't find no tracks of hours, they'd hang suspended*
And as we listened the last time and we watched with one last look
Spellbound and swallowed and to the tolling we ended*

Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse
And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Yeah we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Music and lyrics by Bob Dylan. See the original Bob Dylan version for more details. Bruce Springsteen, a big fan of Dylan, covered the song through the years, stripping it to 3 or 4 verses out of the original 6.

Springsteen premiered CHIMES OF FREEDOM on 01 Sep 1978 at Masonic Temple Theatre in Detroit, MI, during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour. The above lyrics are for that sole rendition in 1978. It is a little different (*) from the original Bob Dylan version and shorter; out of the 6 original verses, Springsteen used verses 1, 5, and 6.

CHIMES OF FREEDOM reappeared during the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour, played on each of the last 16 shows of the tour (starting on 29 Jun 1988 at Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Holland).

  • The 03 Jul 1988 performance at Stockholm Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden, was officially released on various 12-inch and CD EP's later that year, most notably the Chimes Of Freedom EP that was released to support the upcoming Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour. Check out the live 03 Jul 1988 version for more details.
  • The 19 Jul 1988 show at Radrennbahn Weissensee in East Berlin, East Germany, was announced by the promoters as a "Concert For Nicaragua", which upset Bruce and prompted him to give his infamous German-language speech prior to CHIMES OF FREEDOM. Check out the live 19 Jul 1988 version for more details.
  • On the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour, out of the 6 original verses, Springsteen used verses 1, 2, 5, and 6. Lyrics are now closer to the original Bob Dylan version.

CHIMES OF FREEDOM was also played during all 20 shows of the multi-artist Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour, and again in its 4-verses form. It should be noted that the setlist of the 14 Oct 1988 show at Estadio Mundialista Mendoza, Mendoza, Argentina, is unknown, but it is assumed that the song was played on that date since it was on all other setlists of the tour. CHIMES OF FREEDOM, which was the closer of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band's set each night, featured all the tour's performing artists trading verses with Springsteen. Check out the live 15 Oct 1988 version for more details.

The song was reported to be sound-checked during the World Tour 1992-1993, twice, but never played during the tour's regular shows:

  • 16 May 1993 at Alter-Flughafen, Munich, Germany
  • 25 May 1993 at Stadio Flamingo, Rome, Italy

It was also reported to be sound-checked during The Rising Tour, again twice, but never played during the tour's regular shows:

  • 16 Oct 2002 at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
  • 21 Nov 2002 at TD Waterhouse, Orlando, FL

For the upcoming Vote For Change Tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band spent three days in closed rehearsals: 27 to 29 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ. CHIMES OF FREEDOM was played on the first day, and that was the last known Springsteen rendition of the song. Note that the song was on the setlist for the first show of the tour (01 Oct 2004 at Wachovia center, Philadelphia, PA) but it was not played on the show.

Available Versions

List of available versions of CHIMES OF FREEDOM on this website:

CHIMES OF FREEDOM [Live 01 Sep 1978 version]
CHIMES OF FREEDOM [Live 03 Jul 1988 version]
CHIMES OF FREEDOM [Live 19 Jul 1988 version]
CHIMES OF FREEDOM [Live 15 Oct 1988 version]
CHIMES OF FREEDOM [Original Bob Dylan version]
Page last updated: 28 Jun 2007