17 Sep 1984 sound-check version
Put on your white boots, come down on Main Street
Where the assassin shoots the sound of rock and roll beat
??? and comes ???
??? and it seems to fade away
They say they're listening, but they won't even try
Their blood is glistening, glistening down on the vine
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
Come on my little girl, ???
??? you're looking good ???
??? to run away ???
???
Come on now baby, ???
I'll see you maybe ???
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
Hey!
I'll ???, I'll ???
I'll wait for you tonight until you meet me
Beneath the ???, beneath the ???
??? and I won't fade away
Come on now, baby, ???
??? none of us ???
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
??? no one listening and they won't even try
Their blood is glistening, glistening down on the vine
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
Beneath the floodline
BENEATH THE FLOODLINE is an unreleased Bruce Springsteen song, recorded solo in 1997-1998, and possibly also recorded with the E Street Band during the Born In The U.S.A. recording sessions.
The song was sound-checked prior to the 17 Sep 1984 show at Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA. The sound-check was audience-recorded but the quality is below average, making the lyrics mostly unintelligible. The above is an attempted transcription of the lyrics from the 17 Sep 1984 sound-check of BENEATH THE FLOODLINE. Back in 1985-1986, when info first surfaced about the unknown song sound-checked in Philadelphia, there were different incorrect titles thrown around, including "Beneath The Boulevard".
According to Brucebase, it has been suggested that BENEATH THE FLOODLINE was cut late during the Born In The U.S.A. recording sessions. No studio recording of BENEATH THE FLOODLINE has surfaced, and according to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions as of 2010, the song's title does not appear in any of the sessions studio logs until 1997-1998. In his 2012 book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Clinton Heylin wrote that a song of the same name was "recorded at several solo sessions between November 1997 and January 1998, before the E Street band were reconstructed and the song was quietly sidelined, along with the album [Springsteen] was then working on."
BENEATH THE FLOODLINE was sound-checked prior to the 17 Sep 1984 show in Philadelphia, PA, (as far as it's known) but it was not performed on any of the Born In The U.S.A. Tour's regular shows.
Thanks Audio2575 (from Rare Springsteen) for recording the song, sharing the recording, and helping in transcribing the lyrics.
The audience recording of the 17 Sep 1984 sound-check version of BENEATH THE FLOODLINE was posted to YouTube in March 2012. The recording leaves much to be desired, and the above lyrics are far from complete. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of BENEATH THE FLOODLINE on this website:
BENEATH THE FLOODLINE [17 Sep 1984 sound-check version]