Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers' album version
Lying here beside you on this wonderful night
If I had but just one wish I'd hold back the morning light
And I thank my lucky stars for a night like this
We were bound to be together, babe, I felt it all in your first kiss
It's a labor of love
I'm doing it because I want to, baby
It's a labor of love
I can feel it when you touch me, baby
Just like a precious gift sent from up above
This labor of love
A labor of love
Now if I were a rich man, if I were a king
If I could have anything I want I would take you for my queen
Now good things don't come easy, sometimes there's hell to pay
If I had to do it all again, I would never change a single thing
It's a labor of love
I'm doing it because I want to, baby
It's a labor of love
I can feel it when you touch me, baby
Just like a precious gift sent from up above
This labor of love
This labor of love
And I thank my lucky stars for a night like this
We were bound to be together, baby, I felt it all in your first kiss
It's a labor of love
I'm doing it because I want to, baby
It's a labor of love
I can feel it when you touch me, baby
Just like a precious gift sent from up above
This labor of love
It's a labor of love
It's a labor of love
It's a labor of love
It's the power of, it's the glory of, it's a labor of love
A labor of love
It's the power of, it's the glory of, it's a labor of love
A labor of love
It's the power of, it's the glory of, it's a labor of love
A labor of love
It's the power of, it's the glory of, it's a labor of love
A labor of love
It's the power of, it's the glory of, it's a labor of love
[fades out]
LABOR OF LOVE is a song written by Joe Grushecky and released on Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers' 1995 album American Babylon. Bruce Springsteen produced the entire album except the title track, and he participated in the recording of most of the songs. He plays guitars and mandolin on LABOR OF LOVE. Springsteen later adapted the mandolin solo from LABOR OF LOVE virtually note by note for his own LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS.
The above lyrics are for Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers' album version of LABOR OF LOVE as released in 1995.
In late October and early November 1993, Bruce Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and Bob Clearmountain mixing) produced a recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Beverly Hills, CA. Off the session, two tracks would be released on Grushecky's next album, American Babylon: CHAIN SMOKIN' and NEVER BE ENOUGH TIME. Springsteen played guitars, keyboard, and percussion on the first track, and guitar on the second. In addition to Springsteen, Grushecky's backing band for this session consisted of musicians organized by Springsteen that he is believed to have utilized for some of his own scattered studio sessions during the period: Zack Alford on drums, Jerome Smith on bass, and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards. Although originally planned as a "one-off", this session with Grushecky turned out to be the start of a major side project undertaking for Springsteen.
Around February 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and Bob Clearmountain mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording. Off the session, one track would be released on American Babylon: HOMESTEAD, a song Springsteen and Grushecky had co-written together during the previous few months. Springsteen played guitar, harmonica, and mandolin on the track. In addition to Springsteen, Grushecky's backing band for this session consisted of musicians organized by Springsteen that he was utilizing for his own scattered studio sessions of the period: Shayne Fontaine on guitar, Zack Alford on drums, TM Stevens on bass, and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards.
Around August 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Rumson, NJ. Off the session, five tracks would be released on American Babylon: DARK AND BLOODY GROUND (with Springsteen playing guitars and sharing harmony vocals), LABOR OF LOVE (with Springsteen playing guitars and mandolin), WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR (with Springsteen playing guitar), BILLY'S WALTZ (with Springsteen playing mandolin), and ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (with Springsteen playing guitar). The first was co-written by Springsteen and Grushecky. In addition to Springsteen, unlike the previous two sessions held on the west coast, the backing musicians for the east coast sessions consisted of The Houserockers, Grushecky's own Pittsburgh-based band.
Around October 1994, Springsteen (with Toby Scott recording and mixing) produced a further recording session for Joe Grushecky at Thrill Hill Recording. Off the session, three tracks would be released on American Babylon: COMIN' DOWN MARIA, TALK SHOW, and NO STRINGS ATTACHED. The Houserockers were again the session's backing band. But contrary to previous sessions, Springsteen did not play on any of these three recordings, although his wife Patti Scialfa provided backing vocals on the first track.
Although the album was essentially completed at this stage, and filed with the US Copyright Office on 13 Dec 1994, Grushecky had trouble finding an interested record company. "We got turned down by everybody, I mean everybody. That's another reason why it took so long [for release]; I didn't have any funding," Grushecky commented in an interview. "Right around the turn of the year [Dec 1994 - Jan 1995] Pinnacle UK became involved and we knew we had a home for the project".
The final overdubbing/mixing sessions for American Babylon took place around April 1995 at Thrill Hill Recording, and the album was released in October 1995 on Pinnacle Records, and reissued in 2004. The album's title track, AMERICAN BABYLON, is the only one not produced by Bruce Springsteen.
Excerpts from all American Babylon tracks (except TALK SHOW and BILLY'S WALTZ) appear on American Babylon In Conversation, a UK-only promotional CD featuring interviews with both Grushecky and Springsteen recorded on 29 Aug 1995 at Cheers in Long Branch, NJ.
In addition to its release on American Babylon, the album version of LABOR OF LOVE was also included on other releases.
Other versions of LABOR OF LOVE were also officially released.
LABOR OF LOVE was performed 6 times during the 6-date-long October Assault Tour with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers. The live 20 Oct 1995 version was first officially released in 1996.
LABOR OF LOVE was performed off-tour on 02 Mar 1998 at Nick's Fat City in Pittsburgh, PA, during a guest appearance with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers.
LABOR OF LOVE was performed off-tour on 22 Jul 1995 at Tradewinds in Sea Bright, NJ, during a guest appearance with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers.
Thanks Timmy Peterson (Terry at Greasy Lake) for the help. Thanks Steen Andersson (rosalita101 at Greasy Lake) for the American Babylon album scan.
Most info on the recording sessions taken from Brucebase.
If you have any corrections or additional info about this song or the American Babylon recording sessions, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of LABOR OF LOVE on this website:
LABOR OF LOVE [Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers' album version]
