UNSATISFIED HEART

Studio version


One, two,
[Spoken:] Keyboard down
...three, four

Sir I am a pilgrim, a stranger in this land
Once I had a home here, my salvation was at hand
I lived in a house of gold, yeah, on a far hillside
I had two beautiful children and a kind and loving wife

Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart

One day a man came to town with nothing and nowhere to go
He came to me and he mentioned something I'd done a long time ago
I allowed him into my home on his vow that secret wouldn't see the light
At night I'd lay awake in my wife's arms, she'd sigh, "George, you alright?"

Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart

Day after day, time, yeah, time passed on by
But I could feel myself changing, yeah, changing deep inside
One night I woke up and as my wife did sleep
I got dressed in the darkness and I fled into the street

Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart

Well, night after night the same dream keeps coming 'round
I'm standing high in the green hills on the outskirts of town
Night air fills my lungs and rustles my shirt
I can see the house where we lived, the building where I used to work
As I draw near the town's lit by a red summer moon
I feel your arms around me, I wake up in this room

Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart
Can you live with an unsatisfied heart


Info

UNSATISFIED HEART is an unreleased Bruce Springsteen song. The above lyrics are for the only known studio take of the song.

UNSATISFIED HEART shares some lyrics with another outtake from the same period, FUGITIVE'S DREAM. In his 2012 book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Clinton Heylin wrote: "There is a distinct possibility that the transition from 'Fugitive Dream' to 'Unsatisfied Heart' occurred between takes on March 24."

Studio Recording

According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, UNSATISFIED HEART was recorded on 24 Mar 1983 and 16 Apr 1983 at Thrill Hill West, Springsteen's home studio in Los Angeles, CA, and on 13 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory in New York City, NY. One take of UNSATISFIED HEART is in circulation among collectors, and most probably it was cut during one of two sessions at Thrill Hill West. The above lyrics are transcribed from that circulating studio version of UNSATISFIED HEART. Springsteen recorded more than an album's worth of songs by himself during this period. He played all the instruments himself, with the help of a drum machine only, and overdubbing to create the final product.

Bootleg Releases

This version of UNSATISFIED HEART can be found on several bootlegs, including The Lost Masters Vol. 17 (Labour Of Love) and The Lost Masters Essential Collection Vol. 1 (Labour Of Love).

Bruce Springsteen -- The Lost Masters Vol. 17 (Labour Of Love)
Bruce Springsteen -- The Lost Masters Vol. 17 (Labour Of Love)
Bruce Springsteen -- The Lost Masters Essential Collection Vol. 1 (Labour Of Love)
Bruce Springsteen -- The Lost Masters Essential Collection Vol. 1 (Labour Of Love)

Live History

As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed UNSATISFIED HEART live.

Covers

At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's UNSATISFIED HEART.

Vitesse -- What Can Not Be, But Is...
Vitesse -- What Can Not Be, But Is...

CD - Acuarela (NOIS 1020) - Spain, 2001

Credits

Thanks Serge Zehnder for the help.

Available Versions

List of available versions of UNSATISFIED HEART on this website:

UNSATISFIED HEART [Studio version]

Page last updated: 29 Jul 2014