BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Album version]

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for a hot spot snappin' his fingers clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers, "Daddy's within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band"

And she was blinded by the light
Oh, cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says, "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah, he was blinded by the light
Oh, cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but he never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said, "I'll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you'll play that song with the funky break"
And Go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card who said, "Do what you like, but don't do it here"
Well, I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air, fell on the ground
Asked him which was the way back home
He said, "Take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then, boys, you're on your own"

And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said, "Blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon"
And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well I unsnapped his skull cap, between his ears I saw a gap and figured he'd be all right

He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Whoa, but mama that's where the fun is
Ooh, yeah
(I was blinded) Oh my my, oh my my
(I was blinded) Oh my my
(I was blinded) I was blinded by the light
(I was blinded) I was blinded by the light
(I was blinded) I was blinded by the light
(I was blinded) I was blinded by the light
(I was blinded) I was blinded
(I was blinded)
(I was blinded)

Page last updated: 18 Jan 2012

Intro

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is the opening track and the first single from his 1973 debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.. A version recorded by Manfred Mann's Earth Band became a #1 hit in 1977. See Manfred Mann's Earth Band's cover version for more details.

The above lyrics are for Springsteen's studio version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT as released on Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.. The lyrics in bold are edited out on the single version. The album version clocks at 5:06, while the single version clocks at 3:58. The album version was also included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen compilation album in 2003 and the Greatest Hits (the 2009 European edition) compilation album in 2009.

Composition and Recording

Along with SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was composed in August 1972 and was completed by early September. These are the only two tracks on Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. that feature Clarence Clemons, and they would both become the album's (unsuccessful) singles. See the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. section below for more details.

In April 2005, during the taping of his episode of VH1's Storytellers television series, Springsteen revealed that he wrote the words before arranging the music for BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. This is one of the few songs for which Springsteen used this method. He also mentioned that he used a rhyming dictionary to write the song after Clive Davis didn't hear any "hits" for his debut album. See the live 04 Apr 2005 version for more details.

The nature of the lyrics in BLINDED BY THE LIGHT prompted Columbia Records to market the album stating, "This man puts more thoughts, more ideas and images into one song than most people put into an album." The slogan adorned a full-page ad for Springsteen's Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., along with lyrics experts from BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. The below scan if for an ad published in the March 1973 issue of National Lampoon magazine.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was recorded late during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album recording sessions, sometime in August or early September 1972 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. Bruce Springsteen plays guitar, electric bass, keyboards, and sings vocals on this track, and is backed by Clarence Clemons on saxophone and backing vocals and Vini Lopez on drums and backing vocals, in addition to session musician Harold Wheeler who handles piano. The track, as well as the whole album, was produced by Mike Appel and Jimmy Cretecos.

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

After signing the contract with CBS Records, Laurel Canyon Productions was to receive an immediate cash advance from CBS and this money was to be used to pay for the studio time to record Springsteen' debut album. A delay by CBS in delivering the advance money to Laurel Canyon Productions resulted in delaying the sessions till early July 1972. During June Springsteen had finalized the selection of the musicians that would be used for the initial sessions. The musicians chosen, with an ok from Appel and Cretecos, constituted the entire lineup of the former Bruce Springsteen Band: David Sancious on keyboards, Gary Tallent on bass, Vini Lopez on drums, and Steve Van Zandt on quitar. Van Zandt ended up partaking in almost none of the 914 Sound Studios band sessions because of a prior commitment to tour as a member of The Dovells backing group.

The recording sessions for Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. spanned a period of five months, from early June to late October 1972 (the majority were in June), and they all took place at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. The core "band" sessions were completed in only about two weeks. No unreleased band recordings from the debut album sessions have surfaced. Following these band sessions the various band members scattered. It should be noted that Springsteen had not decided to form a touring band at this stage.

Springsteen spent the next few weeks recording solo material. It was during this period that differences of opinion surfaced about what material was going to dominate the eventually released album. There were two sides in this disagreement: Mike Appel and John Hammond wanted a solo-dominated LP while Jim Cretecos was in favor of a band-dominated one. Springsteen was undecided at first, but soon sided with Cretecos. Appel later said that he was so impressed by Bruce's lyrics and told him, "Who needs a band when you can write lyrics like that?" In early August a compromise was reached and the album track selection was decided upon, featuring five band recordings (DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET, GROWIN' UP, IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY, FOR YOU, and LOST IN THE FLOOD) and five solo recordings (THE ANGEL, MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS, JAZZ MUSICIAN, ARABIAN NIGHTS, and VISITATION AT FORT HORN). On 10 Aug 1972 Laurel Canyon transferred the sound recording copyrights to these ten songs to CBS. It seemed the album was finalized, but when then CBS president Clive Davis listened to the tracks he commented that not only did he prefer the band tracks, but he also felt the album lacked a potential hit single. In essence Davis was siding with Springsteen's vision of the album as being more rock-orientated.

In August 1972 Springsteen composed two more commercial-sounding songs, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT and SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT. Consequently a further "band" session was required. However both Sancious and Tallent, then-employed at Alpha Sound Studios in Richmond, NJ, were unable to return to New York to record. Bruce wished to incorporate saxophone in both new songs and contacted Clarence Clemons, a then-member of Norman Seldin & The Joyful Noyze. So the studio session lineup for these two songs was Clemons, Lopez, and Springsteen who played all other instruments, except for the piano on BLINDED BY THE LIGHT which was handled by Harold Wheeler. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT and SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT were completed by early September. These two band recordings bumped three solo recordings: JAZZ MUSICIAN, ARABIAN NIGHTS, and VISITATION AT FORT HORN. Therefore the final album was reduced from 10 tracks to 9, encompassing 7 band tracks and 2 solo tracks. Columbia Records' original intention was to release the album in late November 1972, but decided the album might get overlooked among the massive amount of pre-Christmas releases so the LP was held back for until early January.

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. was released on Columbia Records on 05 Jan 1973. It was produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos. The album received mixed but mostly positive reviews and some critics found it under-produced, as Appel and Cretecos tried to spend as little as possible from Columbia's $65,000 advance and recording budget. The album sold 25,000 copies only in its first year of release and did not chart until the summer of 1975 when the hype over the BORN TO RUN single attracted buyers to Springsteen's earlier albums.

Single Release

Springsteen's official studio version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT also was the lead single from the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album, but failed to appear on the music charts. The single was issued only in the U.S. in February 1973, with THE ANGEL on the B-side. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is edited to fit the 45rpm record; the lyrics in bold above are edited out. This 3:58 edited version is unique to this release and its promotional counterpart (see below). The disc came in a die-cut Columbia logo sleeve, but some were issued with the rare picture sleeve. The sleeve has the lyrics to the song printed on the rear and missing the lines that are edited on this single version. This is one of the rarest Springsteen records, mainly due to its extremely low original sales. The catalogue number is COL 4-45805.

The 3:58 edited version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was simultaneously released as a white label promotional single featuring the same track on both sides (mono and stereo). The disc came in a die-cut Columbia logo sleeve, but some were issued with the rare picture sleeve. This release is very rare, but more common than its commercial counterpart. It has the same catalogue number, COL 4-45805.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen

The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released on 11 November 2003 on Columbia Records. It's part of a series of "Essential" sets released by Sony BMG (previously Sony Music Entertainment). Per liner notes comments by Springsteen, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour; hence, it includes songs from every Springsteen album since his debut. The album was available as a 2-disc set (which clocks at 153:23) and as a limited edition 3-disc set (which clocks at 200:45). For the latter, the third disc contained a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen debuted and peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart where it spent 13 weeks. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records by the RIAA on 16 Dec 2003. The Essential Bruce Springsteen also reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart.

Greatest Hits 2009 Edition

Greatest Hits (2009 edition) is a compilation album released by Columbia Records on 13 Jan 2009 in the U.S. where it was sold exclusively through Wal-Mart retailers. The album was also released (but non-exclusively) in Canada. Unlike the 1995 Greatest Hits release and The Essential Bruce Springsteen in 2003, this compilation was billed to "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band" instead of just "Bruce Springsteen". The album contains 12 previously released studio tracks and clocks at 53:08.

On 01 Jun 2009, Columbia Records released a European edition of the compilation album with an alternative track listing to promote Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's European leg of the Working On A Dream Tour. The European edition was also released in Israel and Mexico. The album comes in a standard jewel case, but a limited digipack edition was also released in Europe. Greatest Hits (2009 European edition) contains 16 previously released studio tracks and 2 live bonus tracks taken from the Live/1975-85 box set. It clocks at 79:03.

The album charted in several countries, but only made it to # 1 in Sweden. In general, the album did much better in Europe than in North America.

Other Official Releases

In addition to its release on the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album and as a single, the official studio version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was also included in January 1973 on "Avenging Annie [by Andy Pratt] / Blinded By The Light", a promotional 7-inch single issued in the U.S. exclusively to members of Columbia/Epic Records' "Play:Back" subscription club for test purposes. The single plays at 33 1/3 rpm and has catalogue number COL AS 45. A very rare white label pressing of this single with different design also exists.

The song was also released in 1977 on a Spain-only 7-inch single with SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT on the B-side. The single has catalogue number CBS 5121 and was reissued in 1985.

In 1978, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was included on Last American Hero From Asbury Park, N.J., a Japan-only promotional LP sampler issued to promote Springsteen's fourth album Darkness On The Edge Of Town, though strangely including tracks from his first three albums only. This release has catalogue number CBS/SONY YAPC 95 and is one of the rarest Springsteen records ever.

In 1980, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was included on Bruce Springsteen Sampler, a Canada-only red label promotional LP sampler compiling 10 tracks from Springsteen's first five album. This release has catalogue number COL CDN-57 and was issued in a white die-cut cardboard sleeve.

In 1982, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was included on Storia E Musica Rock: Bruce Springsteen, an Italy-only cassette tape sampler issued exclusively with domestic magazine Storia E Musica Rock and compiling 7 tracks from Springsteen's first four albums. This release has catalogue number CBS ROCK 05.

In 1988, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was included on The Future Of Rock'n'Roll / 70's To 80's, a Japan-only promotional 2-CD set sampler compiling 28 tracks from Springsteen's first nine albums plus two 1988 live B-sides. This release has catalogue number CBS/SONY XADP 90009-10 and is considered the rarest Springsteen CD sampler.

Disc 1: (70's)

THUNDER ROAD [live 18 Oct 1975]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
RACING IN THE STREET
KITTY'S BACK
BADLANDS
GROWIN' UP
PROVE IT ALL NIGHT
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY)
BACKSTREETS [live 07 Jul 1978]
FOR YOU
TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT
THE PROMISED LAND
ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [live 07 Jul 1978]
BORN TO RUN

Disc 2: (80's)

BORN IN THE USA [live 30 Sep 1985]
BRILLIANT DISGUISE
DANCING IN THE DARK
CADILLAC RANCH [live 06 Jul 1981]
WALK LIKE A MAN
WAR [live 30 Sep 1985]
JOHNNY 99
HUNGRY HEART [live 28 Dec 1980]
I WANNA MARRY YOU
MY HOMETOWN [live 30 Sep 1985]
THE RIVER
GLORY DAYS
OUT IN THE STREET
TOUGHER THAN THE REST [live 27 Apr 1988]
SPARE PARTS
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [live 28 Dec 1980]

In 2005, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was included on CBS Nice Price Line 1800, a Japan-only various artists promotional 2-CD sampler promoting Sony's "Nice Price" CD catalogue. This release was presumably issued for record store in-house use. It come in a thick jewel case and has catalogue number CBS/SONY XADP 90011/12.

In 2005, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was included on Rocks Vol. 1 (1973 - 1982), a Japan-only promotional "Digest" CD-R advance sampler tying in with the release of the first six Japanese 2005 "mini-LP"-style Springsteen CD album reissues. This disc comes in a plain slimline jewel case with no artwork and has no catalogue number.

Video of the live 04 Apr 2005 version was released on the VH1 Storytellers DVD in 2005 and the live 19 Nov 2006 version was included on the Live In Dublin CD and DVD in 2007. See each of the versions for more details.

Live History

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 7 times during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. Very little is known about the 1972 and 1973 shows, and therefore, the song must've been played on some more dates. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band album style arrangement, usually played as the penultimate song of the set, before THUNDERCRACK or another show-closer. Bruce Springsteen opened for headliner Biff Rose in 1973 during a 6-night stand (between 31 January and 05 February, two shows each night) at Max's Kansas City in New York. In the 17 Feb 1973 issue of Billboard Magazine, Jim Melanson wrote a review on one of twelve shows Max's Kansas City mentioning five songs performed by Springsteen, including BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. The review could be for any of the twelve shows in the stand, but more likely from one of the latter ones considering the late publication of the review.

07 Dec 1972 at Kenny's Castaways, New York City, NY
Feb 1973 at Max's Kansas City, New York City, NY
14 Feb 1973 at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
02 Mar 1973 at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA
18 Apr 1973 at Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, NJ
28 Apr 1973 at The University Of Maryland, College Park, MD
14 Jun 1973 at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 15 times during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement, much like the versions from the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour, but with a somewhat more experimental, "Dylanesque" vocal. In the 1974 part of the tour, the song also featured a three-to-four minute extended jazzy instrumental opening, perhaps the closest the E Street Band ever came to progressive rock. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was usually played at or near the end of the shows.

20 Oct 1973 at Franklin Pierce College, Rindge, NH
26 Oct 1973 at Geneva Theatre, Geneva, NY
30 Oct 1973 (late show) at The Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA
31 Oct 1973 (late show) at The Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA
06 Jan 1974 at Joe's Place, Cambridge, MA
12 Jan 1974 at The Joint In The Woods, Parsippany, NJ
25 Jan 1974 at The Mosque, Richmond, VA
29 Jan 1974 at Muther's Music Emporium, Nashville, TN
01 Feb 1974 at Allen Theatre, Cleveland, OH
12 Feb 1974 at University Of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
03 Mar 1974 (early show) at Georgetown University, Washington, DC
09 Mar 1974 (late show) at Liberty Hall, Houston, TX
15 Mar 1974 at Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX
06 Apr 1974 at Burlington County College, Pemberton, NJ
28 Apr 1974 at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA

In 1973, Bruce Springsteen performed BLINDED BY THE LIGHT on one radio performance. See the live 09 Jan 1973 version for more details.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 4 times during the Born To Run Tour: 0 times during the 1st leg (73 know dates / 81 known shows, between July and December 1975) and 4 times during the 2nd leg (35 know dates, between March and May 1976). The 1976 portion of the tour would soon be nicknamed the "Chicken Scratch Tour" by the road crew because of the high proportion of secondary market, southern state locations. Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the Born To Run Tour. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band album-style arrangement. As far as it's known, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was not performed during the tour's 1st leg, but it was reportedly sound-checked prior to the 26 Jul 1975 show in Kutztown, PA.

26 Mar 1976 at Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
28 Mar 1976 at Duke University, Durham, NC
07 Apr 1976 at Allen Theatre, Cleveland, OH
09 Apr 1976 at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was sound-checked prior to the 02 Oct 1985 show in Los Angeles, CA, (as far as it's known) but it was not performed on any of the Born In the USA Tour's regular shows.

After disappearing from Springsteen's repertoire for 17 years, in preparation for World Tour 1992-1993, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed during the tour's public warm-up rehearsal show that took place on 23 Mar 1993 at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ. It was played in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement.

Following World Tour 1992-1993, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed off-tour on 26 Jun 1993 in New York City, NY, during the "Kristen Ann Carr Fund Benefit Concert" benefit show. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement. See the live 26 Jun 1993 version for more details.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 8 times during the 128-date-long The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. On this tour, the song was played solo on acoustic guitar, usually during the encore. The two renditions in London in April 1996 were the first ever outside of the United States, while the three renditions in Australia in February 1997 remain the only performances outside of North America or Europe.

09 Dec 1995 at Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA
22 Apr 1996 at Royal Albert Hall, London, England
27 Apr 1996 at Royal Albert Hall, London, England
29 Oct 1996 at Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
24 Nov 1996 at Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ
10 Feb 1997 at Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia
11 Feb 1997 at Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia
16 Feb 1997 at Palais Theatre, Melbourne, Australia

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 5 times during the 132-date-long The Reunion Tour. It was the show closer in 1999 and was played in the encore (but not a show closer) in 2000. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement featuring a new false ending.

24 Sep 1999 at First Union Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
23 Oct 1999 at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
28 Oct 1999 at Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA
15 Nov 1999 at Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH
27 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed off-tour on 18 Aug 2001 at the beachfront in Asbury Park, NJ, during the 26th annual Clearwater Festival. See the live 18 Aug 2001 version for more details.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed off-tour on the second of the two DoubleTake Magazine benefit shows in February 2003 at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar. See the live 20 Feb 2003 version for more details.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed twice during the 120-date-long The Rising Tour, both in the United States and in 2003. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed on 04 Apr 2005 at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ, during the taping of Bruce Springsteen's episode of VH1's Storytellers television series. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar. An edited version of the concert was released on the VH1 Storytellers DVD in 2005. See the live 04 Apr 2005 version for more details.

In preparation for the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been practiced during at least on1 of the private rehearsals that took place in March and April 2005 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's first leg.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 6 times during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar.

25 Jun 2005 at Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden
24 Jul 2005 at Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC
13 Aug 2005 at Pontiac Theatre At GM Place, Vancouver, Canada
15 Oct 2005 at Dane County Arena At Alliant Center, Madison, WI
04 Nov 2005 at St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
11 Nov 2005 at Constant Convocation Center At Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 8 times during the 56-date-long The Seeger Sessions Tour, all in November 2006 in Europe. The song was played in a radically revamped full-band arrangement. The 19 Nov 2006 performance in Dublin was included on the Live In Dublin CD and DVD in 2007. See the live 19 Nov 2006 version for more details.

07 Nov 2006 at Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium
09 Nov 2006 at The NEC Arena, Birmingham, England
11 Nov 2006 at Wembley Arena, London, England
12 Nov 2006 at Wembley Arena, London, England
14 Nov 2006 at Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England
17 Nov 2006 at Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
19 Nov 2006 at Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
21 Nov 2006 at Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 4 times during the 100-date-long Magic Tour, all in 2008. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement.

25 Apr 2008 at Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
14 Jun 2008 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
29 Jun 2008 at Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
31 Jul 2008 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed twice during the 83-date-long Working On A Dream Tour. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement.

By the time this page was last updated, the 22 Nov 2009 show in Buffalo was the last time BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed live.

Covers

Several artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's BLINDED BY THE LIGHT, most notably Manfred Mann's Earth Band whose version became a #1 hit single in 1977. See Manfred Mann's Earth Band's cover version for more details.

Available Versions

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for all the help. Thanks Robert Winters for the National Lampoon ad scan. Thanks Carlo Bondi for the Storia E Musica Rock: Bruce Springsteen cassette tape scan.

Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances is taken from Brucebase. Scans and info for the some of the above official Springsteen releases are taken from the Lost In The Flood website. Info for some of the above BLINDED BY THE LIGHT cover releases is taken from the Nebraska website.

Request

Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Album version