Lyrics

ROBERT FORD

Home demo version 1

Robert Ford and Jesse James were like brothers
Together they would loot the Danville train, train
And then, da da da da da
Da da da da da da da

Da da, to dust, and they went down the line
Baby, da da da da da da
Da da da da da da da
Da da da, da da da da da da da da da, da da da da da
Baby I can't take it now

Info

ROBERT FORD is an unreleased song written by Bruce Springsteen who recorded it in studio in 1982. The song is also known under the titles "Robert Ford And Jesse James" and "Jesse James". This website uses the title "Robert Ford", which is the one used in Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions to indicate the version recorded in studio in 1982.

The above lyrics are for a solo acoustic home demo take of ROBERT FORD recorded in late March or early April 1981 at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, NJ, during a break in The River Tour. It's just a snippet that, like many other home demos from that period, is ruined by some unintelligible and bluffed vocals.

The song is obviously inspired or based on the 19th century folk song JESSE JAMES, which Springsteen later recorded in 1997 and released in 2006. See home demo version 2 for more similarities.

Known Versions

Three solo acoustic home takes of ROBERT FORD are in circulation among collectors.

  • Home demo version 1, knows under the title "Robert Ford And Jesse James", was recorded in late March or early April 1981 at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, NJ. It's just a snippet with mostly unintelligible lyrics.
  • Home demo version 2, known under the title "Jesse James", was recorded sometime between mid-September 1981 and May 1982 at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, NJ. It's a more developed but still far from finished take.
  • Home demo version 3, known under the title "Jesse James", was recorded sometime between mid-September 1981 and May 1982 at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, NJ. It's no more than a harmonies take.

According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, ROBERT FORD was recorded on 27 Apr 1982 at The Power Station in New York City, NY. The song was probably recorded in a full-band electric arrangement. No studio take of ROBERT FORD has ever surfaced among collectors.

Bootleg Release

This home demo version 1 of ROBERT FORD can be found on the Fist Full Of Dollars (E. St. Records) [track 25] bootleg. The song is listed under the title "Robert Ford And Jesse James".

Bruce Springsteen -- Fistfull Of Dollars (E Street Records)
Bruce Springsteen -- Fistfull Of Dollars (E Street Records)

Live History

Bruce Springsteen has never performed ROBERT FORD live.

Covers

As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's ROBERT FORD.

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.

Available Versions

List of available versions of ROBERT FORD on this website:

ROBERT FORD [Home demo version 1]
ROBERT FORD [Home demo version 2]
ROBERT FORD [Home demo version 3]
Page last updated: 25 Dec 2017