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)
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 1973 album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT as released in 1973.
The album version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT clocks at 5:06, while the edited single version clocks at 3:58. In the above lyrics the parts in bold are edited out on the single version.
The album version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003 edition) compilation album and the Greatest Hits (2009 Europe edition) compilation album.
Bruce Springsteen's BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was most notably covered and released by 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.
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. According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was cut on 11 Sep 1972 at 914 Sound Studios. The version that was released on the album is possibly from that 11 Sep 1972 session.
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 line-up of the former Bruce Springsteen Band: David Sancious on keyboards, Garry 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 line-up 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.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was the lead single from the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album, but it failed to appear on the music charts. The single was issued in February 1973 in the United States only, with THE ANGEL on the B-side. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was edited to fit the 45rpm record; the lyrics in bold above are edited out on the single version. This 3:58 edited version is unique to this release and its promotional counterpart. This is one of the rarest Springsteen records, mainly due to its extremely low original sales, but the promo issue is more common than its commercial counterpart.
The album version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was also released in January 1973 on a promotional single issued in the United States exclusively to members of Columbia/Epic Records' "Play:Back" subscription club for test purposes. The song was also released as a single in Spain in 1977, with SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT on the B-side.
The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released as part of Sony BMG'S (previously Sony Music Entertainment) series of "Essential" sets. According to Springsteen's liner notes comments, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour.
The collection is fundamentally a 2-disc set (clocking at 153:37) compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Live In New York City release. A 3-disc limited edition (clocking at 201:04) was also released. It includes a bonus third disc comprising of a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.
The Essential Bruce Springsteen was released on 11 Nov 2003 on Columbia Records. It debuted and peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart where it spent 13 weeks. It also reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records by the RIAA on 16 Dec 2003.
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
Disc 3:
The Essential Bruce Springsteen was reissued on 16 Oct 2015, this time as a 2-disc set (clocking at 156:25) with an updated track list, compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Greatest Hits (1995 edition) collection. This 2015 reissue features remastered tracks not found in that form on other Springsteen releases.
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
Greatest Hits (2009 edition) is a compilation album released by Columbia Records on 13 Jan 2009 in the United State 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, and in Australia in August 2009. 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.
The album version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT can also be found on some Bruce Springsteen promo-only samplers and at least one various artists promo album.
Other versions of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT were also officially released.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 8 times during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour (October 1972 to September 1973). Many of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. Bruce Springsteen opened for headliner Biff Rose in 1973 during a 6-night stand (from 31 January and 05 February, two shows each night) at Max's Kansas City in New York City, NY. 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 is more likely from one of the latter ones considering the late publication of the review. 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.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 15 times during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour (September 1973 to March 1975). Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. 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.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was sound-checked prior to the 26 Jul 1975 show in Kutztown, PA, (as far as it's known) but it was not performed on any of the Born To Run Tour's regular shows.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 5 times during the so-called Chicken Scratch Tour (35 know dates, March to May 1976). Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the Chicken Scratch Tour. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band album-style arrangement.
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 U.S.A. Tour's regular shows.
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. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement.
BLINDED was performed once during World Tour 1992-1993 (104 dates, June 1992 to June 1993), on 26 Jun 1993 in New York City, NY. The 26 Jun 1993 show in New York City, NY, was billed as "Kristen Ann Carr Fund Benefit Concert" (see the live 26 Jun 1993 version). The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 8 times during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour (128 dates, November 1995 to May 1997). 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. The live 24 Nov 1996 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Asbury Park 11/24/96 official live download in 2019.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 5 times during what is known as The Reunion Tour (132 dates, April 1999 to July 2000). 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. The live 23 Oct 1999 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Los Angeles October 23, 1999 official live download in 2019. The live 27 Jun 2000 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Madison Square Garden, New York 06/27/2000 official live download in 2021.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed twice during The Rising Tour (120 dates, August 2002 to October 2003), both in the United States and in 2003. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement.
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 (72 dates, April to November 2005). The song was played solo on acoustic guitar. The live 25 Jun 2005 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Stockholm 2005 official live download in 2020.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 8 times during The Seeger Sessions Tour (56 dates, April to November 2006), all in November 2006 in Europe. The song was played in a radically revamped full-band arrangement. The live 11 Nov 2006 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Wembley Arena, November 11, 2006 official live download in 2020. The live 19 Nov 2006 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Live In Dublin album and home video in 2007.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 4 times during the Magic Tour (100 dates, October 2007 to August 2008), all in 2008. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed twice during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009). The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement. The live 22 Nov 2009 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY 11/22/2009 official live download in 2016.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 4 times during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013). On this tour, the song was played twice times in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement (on of which during the solo acoustic pre-show) and twice in a full-band arrangement.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed once during the High Hopes Tour (34 dates, January to May 2014). On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement. Audio recordings for most High Hopes Tour shows are officially available for purchase. See the live 15 Apr 2014 version for more details.
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 was performed off-tour on 18 Aug 2001 at Asbury Park Waterfront 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 20 Feb 2003 at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA, during the DoubleTake Magazine benefit shows. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar. See the live 20 Feb 2003 version for more details.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed on 04 Apr 2005 at Rechnitz 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 home video in 2005. See the live 04 Apr 2005 version for more details.
Bruce Springsteen's album version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT appears in one movie.
At least 20 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's BLINDED BY THE LIGHT.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics 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.
Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT on this website:
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Album version]
