GROWIN' UP

Album version

Well I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch
I strode all alone into a fallout zone, came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up

The flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she couldn't sail but she sure could sing
And I pushed B-52 and bombed 'em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, never once gave thought to landing
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd, when they said "come down" I threw up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Lookin' back, now!

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere and you know it's really hard to hold your breath
Swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
But my feet they finally took root in the earth but I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the mother breast of the crowd, when they said "pull down" I pulled up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Hoohoo

Page last updated: 24 Aug 2010

Intro

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, GROWIN' UP is the second track on his 1973 debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. The song soon became a live favorite in the 70's and 80's, often including a long spoken story about Springsteen's youth and his problems with his father.

GROWIN' UP was written in 1971, as Springsteen recalled when introducing the song during his 09 Aug 1978 concert in Cleveland. See the live 09 Aug 1978 version.

An acoustic version recorded during Springsteen's 1972 audition for CBS Records was released on the Tracks box set and the 18 Tracks sampler. See the 03 May 1972 demo version for more details. A studio outtake from the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. sessions is available on bootlegs. See the outtake version for more details. ELOISE, a 1972 unreleased demo, shares similar music with GROWIN' UP.

The above lyrics are for the released studio take of GROWIN' UP as found on the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album. It features Bruce Springsteen on guitar and vocals, Vini Lopez on drums, David Sanscious on piano and keyboards, and Garry Tallent on electric bass.

First Appearances

In 1971 Bruce Springsteen was introduced to Mike Appel, a songwriter who carried on his songwriting activities jointly with Jim Cretecos. In March 1972, Springsteen signed a long-term agreement with Mike Appel on the hood of a car in a dimly lit bar parking lot in New York City. It was agreed that Appel and Cretecos would promote Springsteen's interests. For that purpose, the two formed three partnerships: Laurel Canyon Management to act as Springsteen's manager, Sioux City Music Inc to cover his songwriting activities, and Laurel Canyon Productions to cover his recording activities. In the meantime, in March 1972 Springsteen entered into a recording agreement with Laurel Canyon Productions, but did not sign any Songwriting Agreement at this time, apparently wishing to think this matter over a bit longer.

Appel wanted to sign Springsteen to Columbia Records. He could not arrange a meeting with label head Clive Davis but was able to arrange one with CBS A&R Manager and talent scout John Hammond. An informal private audition took place around 10:30 AM on 02 May 1972 in Hammond's office in the A&R Department at Columbia Records in New York City. John Hammond and Mike Appel were the only two present at the audition. All songs were performed on acoustic guitar and the performance, which lasted about 30 to 40 minutes, was not recorded but based on the collective recollections of the attendees at least the following four tracks were played:

• GROWIN' UP
• IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY
• MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS
• IF I WAS THE PRIEST

Springsteen told Mark Hagen in an interview for Mojo Magazine published in January 1999, "It was a big, big day for me [...]. I was 22 and come up on the bus with an acoustic guitar with no case which I'd borrowed from the drummer from The Castiles. I was embarrassed carrying it around the city. I walked into his office and had the audition and I played a couple of songs and he said, 'You've got to be on Columbia Records. But I need to see you play. And I need to hear how you sound on tape.'"

Springsteen said that he and Mike Appel "walked all around the Village trying to find some place that would let somebody just get up on stage and play. We went to the Bitter End, it didn't work out. We went to another club. And finally we went to the old Gaslight on McDougai Street and the guy says, 'Yeah, we have an open night where you can come down and play for half on hour'. There were about 10 people in the place and I played for about half an hour." The performance took place at the Gaslight AuGoGo club in New York City. No recording has emanated from this club appearance which lasted about 30 minutes and included just 4 or 5 songs. Both Springsteen and Appel have mentioned these two tracks as having been played:

• GROWIN' UP
• IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY

John Hammond was impressed. "The kid absolutely knocked me out," he told Newsweek in 1975. "I only hear somebody really good once every ten years, and not only was Bruce the best, he was a lot better than Dylan when I first heard him." As Springsteen recalled, Hammond said, "Gee, that was great. I want you to come to the Columbia Recording Studio and make a demo tape". He invited Springsteen back to CBS to make a studio demo audition tape the following day. Springsteen said, "A demo I made at Bill Graham's studio in San Francisco in '69 was the only other time I'd ever been in a real recording studio. Columbia was very old-fashioned: everybody in ties and shirts; the engineer was in a white shirt and a tie and was probably 50, 55 years old, it was just him and John and Mike Appel there, and he just hits the button and gives you your serial number, and off you go. I was excited. I felt I'd written some good songs and this was my shot. I had nothing to lose and it was like the beginning of something."

Springsteen's first "formal" studio audition for CBS took place on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios in New York City. Produced by John Hammond and engineered by Phil Giambalvo, the session consisted of 12 songs (two of them played twice, making a total of 14 tracks); session log information survives and it has been verified that the below recordings encompass the complete session. This so-called "John Hammond Demo Session" was assigned the job number 79682; Hammond's voice is heard on the recording of the audition reading off the session number, "Bruce Springsteen, Columbia Pop audition, job number 79682, Mary Queen Of Arkansas, take 1".

• MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS [take #1]
• MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS [take #2]
• GROWIN' UP
• DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET?
• IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY
• THE ANGEL
• ARABIAN NIGHTS
• JAZZ MUSICIAN [take #1]
• JAZZ MUSICIAN [take #2]
• IF I WAS THE PRIEST
• TWO HEARTS IN TRUE WALTZ TIME
• STREET QUEEN
• SOUTHERN SON
• COWBOYS OF THE SEA

Four of the tracks recorded during that demo session would be officially released in 1998 on the Tracks box set. John Hammond's introduction of the audition was kept intact at the start of MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS which opens the box set. Hammond was prepared to sign Bruce on the spot but administrative formalities within CBS meant that it would take several weeks for that to become reality.

Springsteen told Mark Hagen, "I knew a lot about John Hammond, the work he'd done, the people he'd discovered, his importance in music and it was very exciting to feel you were worth his time. No matter what happened afterwards, even it it was just for this one night, you were worth his time. That meant a lot to me. He was very encouraging - simply being in that room with him at the board was one of my greatest recording experiences."

About a week following the audition, Springsteen signed an "Exclusive Songwriting Agreement" with Sioux City Music Inc and a management agreement with Laurel Canyon Management. Following the signing of the agreement, Springsteen began a series of demo sessions for Sioux City Music in May and June 1972. The session took place at two locations in New York City: Wes Farrell's Pocketful Of Sounds Studios where Appel was then still employed, and the apartment of Jim Cretecos. There were multiple sessions held at each location and the session dates at the two locations may have actually intertwined. Cretecos' apartment was utilized due to the limited availability of the studio at Pocketful Of Sounds. Cretecos was an electronics engineer and was able to emulate a reasonable recording environment in his apartment, so much so that it is difficult to distinguish some of the recordings Bruce made in Cretecos' apartment from those made in a professional studio.

On 09 Jun 1972 Laurel Canyon Productions (describing itself as Laurel Canyon Productions Inc) signed a recording agreement with CBS. This meant that Springsteen's services were subcontracted to CBS by Laurel Canyon, i.e., he was not signed directly to CBS. Under the recording agreement, all individual recordings made by Springsteen under the CBS agreement remained the property of Laurel Canyon Productions until such point that they were assigned and transferred to CBS. The recording agreement was varied in August 1972 so as to cover also the master tapes of certain songs which had been recorded prior to the date of the agreement.

In June 1972, a company named Laurel Canyon Ltd. was incorporated to take over the business of Laurel Canyon Productions (the sound recordings partnership). In October 1972 a company named Sioux City Music Ltd. was incorporated to take over the business of Sioux City Music Inc (the songwriting partnership). Sioux City Music Ltd. later changed its name to Laurel Canyon Music Ltd. In March 1973 a company named Laurel Canyon Management Ltd. was incorporated to take over the business of Laurel Canyon Management (the management partnership). All three companies were incorporated in New York. The shares in each company were issued 50/50 to Appel and Cretecos, and they were appointed the first directors.

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

After signing the contract with CBS, 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 two-month period, from early July to early September 1972, and they all took place at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. The initial sessions involved the recording of the "band" material. Apparently Springsteen had pretty much decided what songs were going to be given a band arrangement before entering the studio. So 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 Springsteen preferred a band-dominated one. According to Brucebase, Jim Cretecos also was in favor of a band record. 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.

The album features 9 new Springsteen compositions and clocks at 37:08.

Track list:

1. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
2. GROWIN' UP
3. MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS
4. DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET
5. LOST IN THE FLOOD
6. THE ANGEL
7. FOR YOU
8. SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT
9. IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY

Other Official Releases

In addition to its release on Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., the official studio version of GROWIN' UP was also included on "SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT - GROWIN' UP / ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)", a U.S. 7-inch white label promotional EP. The now very rare release runs at a 33 1/3 rpm speed and was issued in a die-cut Columbia logo sleeve, with catalogue number COL AE7 1088. This marks the only release of GROWIN' UP on the format.

In 1988, GROWIN' UP was included on The Future Of Rock'n'Roll / 70's To 80's, an impossibly rare Japan-only promotional 2-CD set compiling 28 tracks from Springsteen's first nine albums plus two 1988 live B-sides. Catalogue number is CBS/SONY XADP 90009-10.

[Click here to display/hide detailed track listing]

In 1992, GROWIN' UP was included on Tougher Than The Rest, a very rare Sweden-only promotional CD used for both radio promotion and as a VIP giveaway item at the opening shows of Springsteen's 1992 tour in Stockholm. It contains 14 tracks from the first nine albums only. Two different pressings exist: the first comes in a standard jewel case with title front inlay and back insert, and the second comes in a plain slimline case with no inlays. The catalogue number is COL BOSS1.

[Click here to display/hide detailed track listing]

The 03 May 1972 demo version of GROWIN' UP was first released on the Tracks box set in 1998, the live 07 Jul 1978 version was first released on the Live/1975-85 box set in 1986, video of the live 22 Sep 1992 version was first released on the In Concert / MTV Plugged VHS and the audio first appeared on the Streets Of Philadelphia maxi single in 1994, and the live 17 Nov 2006 version was released on the Live In Dublin CD and DVD in 2007. See each of the versions for more corresponding official releases details.

Live History

GROWIN' UP was performed live for the first time on 02 May 1972 at the Gaslight AuGoGo club in New York City (read above). The song was also performed at least once during Bruce's residency at Max's Kansas City in New York City in August 1972. These were Springsteen's first series of "official" public performances after signing with Columbia Records. See the live Aug 1972 version for more details. Very little is known about the 1972 shows, and GROWIN' UP must've been played on many more occasions that year.

[Click here to display/hide detailed known 1972 performances list]

Bruce Springsteen opened for headliner Biff Rose in 1973 during a 6-night stand (between 31 January to 05 February, two shows each night) at Max's Kansas City in New York. Jim Melanson wrote a review on one of the last ten shows Max's Kansas City (precise show is unknown) mentioning five songs including GROWIN' UP. The review appeared on Billboard Magazine on 17 Feb 1973. The next known appearance of GROWIN' UP was on 31 May 1973, during a live radio broadcast on WGOE-FM. See the live 31 May 1973 version for more details. The song was again performed during another radio performance, on 02 Jun 1973 on WHFS-FM. See the live 02 Jun 1973 version for more details. GROWIN' UP is known to have been performed three more times that year. The two 1973 radio performances featured a full-band acoustic arrangement of GROWIN' UP, while the regular 1973 shows featured a full-band, album-style arrangement of the song which was somewhat slower than later versions. Very little is known about the 1973 shows, and GROWIN' UP must've been played on many more occasions that year.

[Click here to display/hide detailed known 1973 performances list]

As far as it's known, GROWIN' UP appeared 19 times in 1974 and 1975, prior to the Born To Run Tour. It should be noted that some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played many more times. The 09 Mar and 09 Apr 1974 performances took place at radio stations and were broadcast live. See the live 09 Mar 1974 version and live 09 Apr 1974 version for more details. The 05 Feb 1975 show at The Main Point was broadcast on WMMR-FM. See the live 05 Feb 1975 version for more details. The two 1974 radio performances featured a full-band acoustic arrangement of GROWIN' UP, while the regular 1974 and 1975 shows featured a full-band, album-style arrangement of the song.

[Click here to display/hide detailed known 1974 and 1975 performances list]

The Born To Run Tour kicked off on 20 Jul 1975 at the Palace Theater in Providence, RI, (the live debut of Miami Steve as a member of the E Street Band) and this was the first performance of GROWIN' UP after Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band finished recording the Born To Run album and hit the road. The song was performed very frequently during the tour.

During the 1st leg of the Born To Run Tour (73 know dates / 81 known shows, between July and December 1975), GROWIN' UP is confirmed to be have been performed on 30 shows, and absent on 22. Note that many setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore the remaining 29 performances remain unconfirmed.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Born To Run Tour 1st leg confirmed performances list]

During the 2nd leg of the Born To Run Tour (35 known dates, between March and May 1976, and including the 10 Apr 1976 benefit concert at Choate School in Wallingford, CT), GROWIN' UP is confirmed to be have performed on 16 shows. Note that many setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore the remaining 19 performances remain unconfirmed. The song must've been a stable number during that 2nd leg. That portion of the tour would soon be nicknamed by the road crew as the "Chicken Scratch Tour" because of the high proportion of secondary market, southern state locations. During the Born To Run Tour GROWIN' UP was performed in its full-band album-style arrangement.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Born To Run Tour 2nd leg confirmed performances list]

Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original agreement. Bruce replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of trust, and undue influence. Appel countersued on 29 Jul 1976 in New York State Supreme Court, asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This would drag for about a year.

Meanwhile, Springsteen continued gigging, and in the process broke his self-imposed rule of not playing the larger arenas. This was basically because he was not able to put a record out, and it was the only way his fans would be able to hear him at all. GROWIN' UP was frequently played during that "Lawsuit Tour", specially the 1st leg.

GROWIN' UP was performed in its full-band album-style arrangement during the "Lawsuit Tour". Before that tour, the song did not feature a story in the break. The instrumental after the second verse was heavily extended on the first two performances on the "Lawsuit Tour", and the third performance (30 Sep 1976) was the first to include a full spoken story. See the below live versions from the "Lawsuit Tour" for more details.

During the 1st leg of the tour (29 known dates, between August and November 1976), GROWIN' UP is confirmed to have been performed on 20 shows, and absent on 8. Note that some setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore the remaining performance remains unconfirmed.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Lawsuit Tour 1st leg confirmed performances list]

During the 2nd leg of the tour (33 known dates, between February and March 1977), GROWIN' UP is confirmed to have been performed on 5 shows, and absent on 18. Note that some setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore the remaining 10 performance remain unconfirmed.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Lawsuit Tour 2nd leg confirmed performances list]

On 28 May 1977, the Springsteen-Apple lawsuits reached a final settlement and finally Springsteen was able to get into a studio and record. Darkness On The Edge Of Town wasn't officially released until 02 June 1978 and the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour kicked-off on 23 May 1978 in Buffalo. GROWIN' UP is known to have been performed a total of 48 times out of the 111 known dates of the tour, all up to early September. It should be noted that a few setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore the song might have been played a few more times. The 07 Jul 1978 performance at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood was officially released on the Live/1975-85 box set in November 1986. See the live 07 Jul 1978 version for more details. GROWIN' UP was played in its full-band album-style arrangement during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour and featured a story in the break.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour confirmed performances list]

GROWIN' UP was performed 18 times on The River Tour. It was played in its full-band album-style arrangement during this tour and featured a story in the break.

[Click here to display/hide detailed The River Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP was performed 39 times on the Born In The USA Tour. It was played in its full-band album-style arrangement during this tour and featured a story in the break which evolved into a skit with assorted crew members in the cast.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Born In The USA Tour performances list]

Out of the 102 Human Touch / Lucky Town Tour shows, GROWIN' UP was played on 12 dates, all of which in the 1992 part of the tour. The song was performed in a stripped-down arrangement featuring only Bruce Springsteen and Roy Bittan, and no more featured a spoken story after the second verse.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Human Touch / Lucky Town Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP was performed off-tour on 22 Sep 1992 at Warner Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles, CA, for the taping of MTV Unplugged. Video of the track was included on the home video release of the concert, and the audio appeared on the Streets Of Philadelphia maxi single in 1994. See the live 22 Sep 1992 version for more details.

[Click here to display/hide detailed 1992 off-tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP appeared 7 times on The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour, all in November 1996 in New Jersey and May 1997 in Europe. Played solo on acoustic guitar, these were the first known solo versions of the song.

[Click here to display/hide detailed The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP appeared 7 times on The Reunion Tour. It was played in its full-band album-style arrangement during this tour.

[Click here to display/hide detailed The Reunion Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP appeared 6 times on The Rising Tour. The song was played in its full-band album-style arrangement, sometimes with spoken bits in the break and sometimes without, except in Austin where it featured just Bruce on acoustic guitar and Clarence on saxophone. See the live 02 Mar 2003 version for more details.

[Click here to display/hide detailed The Rising Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP was performed on 26 Jul 2002 at Sonny's Southern Cuisine restaurant in Asbury Park, when Springsteen played an intimate acoustic set for contest winners that were at the warm up gig for The Rising Tour that took place on the afternoon of the same day at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park. All songs, except GROWIN' UP, were played by request of the contest winners. The song was also performed solo acoustic during both the DoubleTake Magazine benefit shows in February 2003. See the live 19 Feb 2003 version and live 20 Feb 2003 version for more details.

[Click here to display/hide detailed 2002 and 2003 off-tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP appeared 13 times on the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour. The first 4 performances were solo acoustic guitar renditions (see the live 11 Aug 2005 version) while the remaining 9 were solo ukulele (see the live 22 Nov 2005 version).

[Click here to display/hide detailed Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP appeared 11 times on The Seeger Sessions Tour, played in a radically revamped full-band arrangement, all during the final European leg. The 17 Nov 2006 performance at Point Theatre in Dublin was included on the Live In Dublin CD and DVD in 2007. See the live 17 Nov 2006 version for more details.

[Click here to display/hide detailed The Seeger Sessions Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP appeared 11 times on the Magic Tour. The song was played in its traditional full-band arrangement, sometimes with a spoken bit in the break. The 21 Aug 2008 show in Nashville was the the only time on the tour when GROWIN' UP featured a true story in the traditional spot. See the live 21 Aug 2008 version for more details. The first performance (11 Nov 2007 in Washington) was the last ever and only of the tour to feature Danny Federici.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Magic Tour performances list]

GROWIN' UP appeared 14 times on the Working On A Dream Tour. The song was played in its traditional full-band arrangement, sometimes with a spoken bit in the break. Among these 14 dates, Jay Weinberg substituted for his father on drums three times: 21 May 2009 in East Rutherford, 05 Jun 2009 in Stockholm, and 23 Aug 2009 in Mansfield.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Working On A Dream Tour performances list]

By the time this page was last updated, the 22 Nov 2009 show in Buffalo was the last time GROWIN' UP was performed.

References in Popular Culture

GROWIN' UP was used in the Dennis Dugan directed 1999 film Big Daddy, but was not included on the film's soundtrack album. The song plays towards the end of the movie.

Plot: A lazy law school grad adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend, but everything doesn't go as planned and he becomes the unlikely foster father. Starring: Adam Sandler, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Stewart, Rob Schneider Directed by: Dennis Dugan Produced by: Joseph M. Caracciolo, Allen Covert, Michelle Holdsworth, Adam Sandler, Robert Simonds, Mary P. Winn, Jack Giarraputo, Alex Siskin Written by: Steve Franks, Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler Distributed by: Columbia Pictures Release date: 25 Jun 1999

GROWIN' UP was also used in the Davis Guggenheim directed 2007 film Gracie, and again it was not included on the film's soundtrack album. The film is set in 1978 in South Orange, NJ, and GROWIN' UP plays during a montage of Gracie training for her upcoming soccer tryouts. The song also plays during the film's closing credits.

Plot: A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer. Starring: Elisabeth Shue, Carly Schroeder, Dermot Mulroney, Jesse Lee Soffer, Andrew Shue Directed by: Davis Guggenheim Produced by: Davis Guggenheim, Andrew Shue, Elisabeth Shue, John Shue Written by: Lisa Marie Petersen, Karen Janszen, Andrew Shue, Davis Guggenheim, Ken Himmelman Distributed by: Picturehouse Entertainment Release date: 01 Jun 2007

GROWIN' UP is mentioned in the Nora Roberts 2005 book Blue Smoke. The character Brad is driving in traffic and listening to Springsteen's GROWIN' UP playing on his radio. Next to him is a pretty woman driving a Chevy, listening to something on her radio and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. From the the rhythm of her fingers, Brad thinks she had the same station going.

Covers

Several artists recorded Springsteen's GROWIN' UP, including:

Any Trouble -- Where Are All The Nice Girls? LP - Stiff (USE 6) - USA, 1980 CD - Compass (7 4246) - USA, 1997 Any Trouble's cover of GROWIN' UP was also included on Born To Run 2003 - The Best of The Boss, Volume Two, a free CD (volume 2 of 2) released with the April 2003 issue of Uncut magazine. The group also released a live recording of GROWIN' UP on their 1980 live album Live & Alive.

Tim Goodman -- Footsteps LP - Columbia (BL 37410) - USA, 1981

Carl Rosen -- Section 8 Cassette - no label (no catalogue number) - USA, 1986 CD - Time Zone (no catalogue number) - USA, 2004

David Bowie -- Pin Ups LP - Rykodisc (RALP 10136) - USA, 1990 CD - Rykodisc (RCD 10136) - USA, 1990 GROWIN' UP was released as a bonus track on the 1990 Rykodisc reissue of Bowie's 1973 album Pin Ups. It was also included. It also appeared in 2004 on the bonus disc of the 30th anniversary edition of Bowie's 1974 album Diamond Dogs. See David Bowie's cover version for more details.

Pearl Jam -- #70 July 14th 2003 Holmdel 2-CD - Epic (E2K 90521) - USA, 2003 This is a live recording of Pearl Jam's 14 Jul 2003 concert at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ.

Portastatic -- Autumn Was A Lark CD - Merge (mrg236) - USA, 2003

Session musicians -- Super Instrumental CD - O6epir-XXI / Vikkon (no catalogue number) - Ukraine, 2003 This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album.

Session musicians featuring David West -- Pickin' On Springsteen Volume 2 CD - CMH (CD-8463) - USA, 2003 This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album.

John Strada Acoustic Trio -- Live In the Park CD - unknown label (unknown catalogue number) - Italy, 2005 Contains a live recording of GROWIN' UP.

Various artists -- If I Were The Boss: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen CD - Castle (CMQCD1422) - UK, 2006 GROWIN' UP is performed by Alvin Stardust on this various artists Bruce Springsteen tribute album. The track was initially released in 1977 as a single in the U.S. and Europe, and was included on Stardust's Greatest Hits album that same year.

Dirk Darmstaedter -- Original Podcasts, Vol. 1 CD - no label (no catalogue number) - Germany, 2006

Steve Lieberman The Gangsta Rabbi -- Jewish Pirate CD - Gangsta Rabbi Bad'lan Usa (no catalogue number) - USA, 2006

Gary Heffern -- Consolation CD - fin-rosa (unknown catalogue number) - Finland, 2008

Andrew Nicholson -- Driving All Night: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen Volume II CD - no label (no catalogue number) - UK, 2009 This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album.

Jackie Barnett -- "Growin Up" With Bruce CD EP - no label (no catalogue number) - UK, 2009 This EP consists only of Springsteen covers.

Available Versions

List of available versions of GROWIN' UP on this website:

• Album version
• Outtake version
• 03 May 1972 demo version
• Live Aug 1972 version
• Live 31 May 1973 version
• Live 02 Jun 1973 version
• Live 31 Oct 1973 version
• Live 09 Mar 1974 version
• Live 09 Apr 1974 version
• Live 05 Feb 1975 version
• Live 23 Aug 1975 version
• Live 13 Sep 1975 version
• Live 30 Dec 1975 version
• Live 07 Apr 1976 version
• Live 07 Aug 1976 version
• Live 30 Sep 1976 version
• Live 25 Oct 1976 version
• Live 27 Oct 1976 version
• Live 04 Nov 1976 version
• Live 13 Feb 1977 version
• Live 23 Mar 1977 version
• Live 24 Mar 1977 version
• Live 31 May 1978 version
• Live 25 Jun 1978 version
• Live 05 Jul 1978 version
• Live 07 Jul 1978 version
• Live 04 Aug 1978 version
• Live 09 Aug 1978 version
• Live 15 Aug 1978 version
• Live 01 Sep 1978 version
• Live 20 Nov 1980 version
• Live 27 Nov 1980 version
• Live 26 Jan 1981 version
• Live 24 Aug 1981 version
• Live 20 Aug 1984 version
• Live 14 Sep 1984 version
• Live 02 Oct 1985 version
• Live 07 Aug 1992 version
• Live 22 Sep 1992 version
• Live 08 Nov 1996 version
• Live 24 Sep 1999 version
• Live 19 Feb 2003 version
• Live 20 Feb 2003 version
• Live 02 Mar 2003 version
• Live 22 Jun 2003 version
• Live 11 Aug 2005 version
• Live 22 Nov 2005 version
• Live 11 Nov 2006 version
• Live 17 Nov 2006 version
• Live 22 Apr 2008 version
• Live 27 Jul 2008 version
• Live 21 Aug 2008 version
• Live 21 Apr 2009 version
• Live 23 Aug 2009 version
• Live 30 Sep 2009 version
• Live 22 Nov 2009 version
• David Bowie's cover version

Credits / References

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

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 GROWIN' UP cover releases are 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.