THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES

Live Nov 1971 version


Come on, guys
Yeah!

Yeah!

Well it's another Saturday night and you're sitting at the bar all alone
Well man you're feeling kind of tired but you're not tired enough to go home, no you're not
Well sit back and let loose because the band's just bopping the blues

Well it's the same old singer, Mama, and I know that it's the same old song
And the band keeps on playing, they keep playing all night long
Well now I know it ain't no use because the band's just bopping the blues

Yeah, Mr. Southside Johnny on the harmonica

Yeah

Yeah I got Madman on the drums, and Mr. Dave ??? down to my left on the keys
And when the man plays his guitar, it hits the little girls bad between the knees
Oh, so just sit back and hang loose because the band's just bopping blues

Now

Oh you might dig boogie-woogie tunes or maybe you like to rock down and roll
But right now it's all about the music, it saves me right down into my soul
Ah well just sit back and hang loose because the band's just bopping the blues

Alright, here we go ???
Alright now


Info

THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES is a song written by Bruce Springsteen. He performed it live in 1971 and 1972 with The Bruce Springsteen Band. The song remains unreleased.

According to Brucebase, THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES was probably written in 1971. No studio recording of the song is known to exist. The song later evolved into SECRET TO THE BLUES, which was performed with The E Street Band in 1973.

Decades later, THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES was recorded by Jersey Shore band Steel Mill Retro who released it on The Dead Sea Chronicles, their 2005 album of Bruce Springsteen songs that were first performed by the original Steel Mill. See Steel Mill Retro's cover version for more details.

Live Nov 1971 version

The above lyrics are for a live performance of THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES at Student Prince in Asbury Park, NJ, with The Bruce Springsteen Band. The exact date is unknown, but it's from a November 1971 show at Student Prince. Southside Johnny was a guest at this show and he can be heard playing harmonica on THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES.

In a 6-song Bruce Springsteen Band soundboard recording form 1971 that has long been in circulation among collectors, Bruce Springsteen can be heard informing the audience that a gentleman named Mark Romanski is present and filming. According to Brucebase, the comments made by Springsteen regarding video footage being shot during the show positively link this audio to The Student Prince. Romanski, a friend of Steven Van Zandt, was filming as part of a course project he was taking at University. Sadly all the film footage was destroyed in the early seventies. It is believed that this filming was undertaken at one of the November 1971 shows, although the specific date has not been determined. Whenever performing THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES, Springsteen mentions the day of the week in the first line. The song is on the November 1971 soundboard recording and Springsteen sings "it's another Saturday night". The Bruce Springsteen Band is known to have played on the second, third, and fourth Saturdays at Student Prince in November 1971. This narrows the soundboard recording's possible dates to 13, 20, and 27 Nov 1971. Brucebase lists the recording under its 13 Nov 1971 entry.

Live History

THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES is known to have been performed at least twice in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972). Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates in 1971 and 1972.

  1. Nov 1971 at Student Prince, Asbury Park, NJ (with The Bruce Springsteen Band)
  2. Feb 1972 at The Back Door, Richmond, VA (with The Bruce Springsteen Band)

Covers

At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES.

Steel Mill Retro -- The Dead Sea Chronicles
Steel Mill Retro -- The Dead Sea Chronicles

CD-R - Steel Mill Retro LLC (no catalog number) - USA, 2005

This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album. This is the first of three issues of this album. See Steel Mill Retro's cover version for more details.

References

Much of the above info about the song's live history and the Student Prince recording is taken from Brucebase.

Request

If you have any additional information about this song, or any corrections to the above lyrics, please contact me via the below form or by email: .

Available Versions

List of available versions of THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES on this website:

THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES [Live Nov 1971 version]
THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES [Live Feb 1972 version]
THE BAND'S JUST BOPPING THE BLUES [Steel Mill Retro's cover version]

Page last updated: 07 Apr 2016