Live 23 May 1970 version
Come on, are you ready
The temperature's rising and summer's coming on
Well come on, don't let them get you right now
The time has come, it might be now
Come on, are you ready
The bells are ringing and the people are singing their song
Come on, don't you feel it
The world is crying for freedom, can't you hear it
Gather up your children
Bring them down to the riverside
And teach them well, show them good
They got no reason to hide
Hey!
[Instrumental]
Gather up your children
Bring 'em down to the riverside
And teach them well, show them good
They got no reason to hide
Come on, you gotta be a man now
I wanna see you, I wanna see you raise your hands, now
Come on, don't you feel it
The world is crying for freedom
The world is crying for freedom, don't you hear it
Come on, I'll do my part!
COME ON is a song written by Bruce Springsteen. He performed it live with Steel Mill in 1970. COME ON is also known under the extended title "Come On (The World Is Crying For Freedom)". Not to be confused with the Darkness On The Edge Of Town outtake COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT).
Decades later, COME ON was recorded by Jersey Shore band Steel Mill Retro who released it on The Dead Sea Chronicles, their 2005 album of Bruce Springsteen songs that were first performed by the original Steel Mill. See Steel Mill Retro's cover version for more details.
Steel Mill may have recorded COME ON at Challenger Eastern Surfboards in Asbury Park, NJ. The surfboard factory was also Springsteen's home from late 1969 thru late 1970, and a makeshift studio environment of sufficient standard to produce reasonable quality recordings. Although the song might have been recorded as part of ongoing rehearsals at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, none of these 1969 and 1970 recordings is currently in circulation. Due to financial restrictions the reel-to-reel tapes were often reused. Consequently there is a distinct possibility that much of what was recorded at Challenger no longer survives, even in Springsteen's personal archive.
The above lyrics are for the live 23 May 1970 performance of COME ON at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.
The 23 May 1970 show took place at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. It was a double bill show held in the university's VCU Gym, with Steel Mill headlining and Mercy Flight opening. This gig is infamous because it ended with drummer Vini Lopez arrested for unruly behavior. An 80-minute audience recording of fair quality is in circulation but does not represent the complete show, which contained at least 20 more minutes of music (two to four more songs).
COME ON is known to have been performed at least 4 times in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972). Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates.
At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's COME ON.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances of COME ON is taken from Brucebase.
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List of available versions of COME ON on this website:
COME ON [Live 23 May 1970 version]
