CODE OF SILENCE^©

Album's version

Page last updated: 05 Nov 2009

Intro

Co-written by Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky, CODE OF SILENCE was recorded by the two as a duet and released on Grushecky's 2006 album, A Good Life; the above lyrics are for that version. Springsteen officially released a live version on his 2003 compilation album The Essential Bruce Springsteen.

Composition

CODE OF SILENCE was co-written by Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky in Dec 1997 or Jan 1998. Springsteen writes in his 2003 compilation album The Essential Bruce Springsteen that the songs was "written with Joe Grushecky in the winter of '97". In a Spring 2007 interview for Backstreets Magazine, Grushecky explained that Springsteen asked him if he had any stuff he thought he could use for rock songs for the E Street Band. This lead to some writing sessions and CODE OF SILENCE was something that Grushecky had written and sent to Springsteen long-distance by fax. Using Grushecky's chorus, Springsteen took the lyrics, wrote new chords, and tweaked his verses here and there. "It was something I wouldn't have put together on my own, and he wouldn't have on his own," Grushecky explained. "It was a real collaboration."

Studio Recording

After writing the material for A Good Life, Grushecky was preparing to start recording the album when he thought that he didn't have any big rock songs at that time. "'Code Of Silence,' Bruce does the live version, and I thought we could do a studio version that, to me, was a bit different," he told Backstreets Magazine. "I asked Bruce if he would mind if I recorded that song... he though it was a good idea. Once he gave me his blessing to record it, I said, 'Well, do you want to sing on it?'"

Springsteen accepted the offer to record some guitar and vocals on Grushecky's CODE SILENCE, and he also joined him on three other tracks on the album. See below for recording more details.

Springsteen possibly recorded the song with the E Street Band in studio prior to the release of the live version on The Essential Bruce Springsteen.

Live History

CODE OF SILENCE appeared live for the first time at the end of The Reunion Tour, played on 8 of the 10 shows at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY. The song was the opener of those shows, except on the second night (15 Jun 2000). The 29 Jun 2000 performance was officially released in 2003 on the bonus disc of The Essential Bruce Springsteen compilation album.

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CODE OF SILENCE was played only 2 times during The Rising Tour. Springsteen played the song with Joe Grushecky for the first time on 04 Dec 2002 in Pittsburgh. That performance features different lyrics not found in any other versions. Check the live 04 Dec 2002 version for more details. Check the live 04 Oct 2003 version. Note that the song was sound-checked earlier in the tour, on 20 Aug 2002 at The Rose Garden Arena, Portland, OR.

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Later Springsteen played CODE OF SILENCE on 5 off-tour occasions, all with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers.

The 01 Nov 2003, 06 Nov 2004, and 02 Dec 2006 performances at The Stone Pony were during the fourth, fifth, and seventh annual Light Of Day benefits respectively. The 02 Dec 2004 performance in Pittsburgh was during the Flood Aid '04, a benefit for Pennsylvanians who suffered damage from Hurricane Ivan in September.

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CODE OF SILENCE reappeared only 1 time during the Magic Tour.

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Awards

Bruce Springsteen live version of CODE OF SILENCE -- which was recorded on 29 Jun 2000 during The Reunion Tour, and officially released  in 2003 on the bonus disc of The Essential Bruce Springsteen compilation album -- won a 2004 Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (for a solo vocal performance - Singles or Tracks only).

Springsteen did not attend the award ceremony which took place on 13 Feb 2005 at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA. The Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance award was given out before the broadcast, and acknowledged during the broadcast by a flash of text at the bottom of the screen.

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 album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on November 29, 2003 at number 14, with sales of 90,000 copies. It spent 13 weeks on the chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records on December 16, 2003 by the RIAA. The Essential Bruce Springsteen also reached #28 in UK albums chart.

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A Good Life

A Good Life is a studio album by Joe Grushecky released on 15 Aug 2006 on Schoolhouse Records. It features Bruce Springsteen on 4 tracks, sharing vocals and playing guitar with Grushecky: CODE OF SILENCE, IS SHE THE ONE, A GOOD LIFE, and SEARCHING FOR MY SOUL (guitar only). The primary recording sessions for the album took place at studios in West Virginia. However Bruce, with Toby Scott engineering, worked only from his New Jersey home studio and overdubbed onto Gruschecky's already completed basic tracks.

Available Versions

List of available versions of CODE OF SILENCE on this website:

• Album's version
• Live 29 Jun 2000 version
• Live 04 Dec 2002 version
• Live 04 Oct 2003 version

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics.