Unofficial studio version
One, two, three, four
I had a wife, I had a child
I had a home up on a hill
Had a good life for seven years
Now all I've got is seven tears
Went down to see my gypsy man
He said, "Now son, I understand"
When I said, "I want one for every year"
He tattooed on my face these seven tears
Oh seven tears, oh seven tears
I want one for every happy year
My baby's gone, she's gone, gone, gone
And I'll cry forever ever on
Woo!
When I walk out into the lights of town
People see me coming and they gather round
They wanna know how I ended up here
With tattoos on my face of seven tears
Oh seven tears, oh seven tears
I want one for every happy year
My baby's gone, she's gone, gone, gone
And I'll cry forever ever on
Mmm-mmm-mmm ooh ooh ooh ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh-ooh...
[Fades out]
SEVEN TEARS is an unreleased song written by Bruce Springsteen. The above lyrics are for the only studio take of SEVEN TEARS in circulation.
The song appeared in a 2022 filing at the United States Copyright Office. See the "Copyright Filings" section below form more details.
According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, SEVEN TEARS was recorded on 15 Feb 1983 at Thrill Hill West, Springsteen's home studio in Los Angeles, CA. The studio take in circulation was most probably cut on 15 Feb 1983.
Springsteen recorded more than an album's worth of songs by himself during this period. He played all the instruments himself, with the help of a drum machine only, and overdubbing was used to create the final product.
In 2022, a "Recorded Document" consisting of 539 Bruce Springsteen "musical works" was filed at the United States Copyright Office. The two filings are related to Springsteen's late 2021 deal with Sony Music in which he sold the masters of his entire catalog and the coinciding music publishing rights. They show the transfer of the songs from Bruce Springsteen to Thrill Hill Music LLC and then from Thrill Hill Music LLC to Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC and Asbury Boss LLC. Thrill Hill Music LLC and Asbury Boss LLC are limited liability companies incorporated in September 2021 and October 2021 respectively and likely created for the deal.
Copyright entry #1:
Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V15007D317
Date of Recordation: 2022-05-13
Entire Copyright Document: V15007 D317 P1-13
Date of Execution: 01Nov21; 01Mar22
Title: 100 Miles From Jackson & 538 other titles; Musical Work.
Notes: Assignment.
Party 1: Bruce Springsteen
Party 2: Thrill Hill Music LLC
Links: List of titles
Names: Springsteen, Bruce | Thrill Hill Music LLC
Copyright entry #2:
Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V15007D318
Date of Recordation: 2022-05-13
Entire Copyright Document: V15007 D318 P1-14
Date of Execution: 22Nov21; 22Nov21
Title: 100 Miles From Jackson & 538 other titles; Musical Work.
Notes: Exhibit 10.1 Assignment
Party 1: Thrill Hill Music LLC
Party 2: Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC; Asbury Boss, LLC
Links: List of titles
Names: Thrill Hill Music LLC | Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC | Asbury Boss, LLC
This version of SEVEN TEARS can be found on several bootlegs, including The Lost Masters Vol. 16 (Labour Of Love) [track 14] and The Lost Masters Essential Collection Vol. 2 (Labour Of Love) [disc 2, track 20].
The Lost Masters Vol. 16 (and The Lost Masters Essential Collection Vol. 2) liner notes state that the song was recorded on 04 Jan 1983. This is probably an error since studio logs only list one take, recorded on 15 Feb 1983.
As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed SEVEN TEARS live.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's SEVEN TEARS.
If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of SEVEN TEARS on this website:
SEVEN TEARS [Unofficial studio version]
