Album version
I woke up feeling the sunshine
Drift across my face
It took me back to emotions
From another time and place
Those yesterdays
Cruising in my Chevrolet
I held my baby in my arms
But my first love was always those songs
I'm talking about soul days
Talking about those sweet soul days
I crawled out of bed real slowly
Threw on some old blue jeans
I found my favorite t-shirt
And started rolling up my sleeves
Like James Dean
Thinking I was still nineteen
I walked outside and looked around
My heart was pumping when I found
There's gonna be a soul day
Laid back sunny sweet summer soul day
I think I'll take my baby for a ride down the back road
Out in the country where the summer winds blow
Over by the river there's a barbecue shop
Always on the jukebox
You know I like it like that (yeah yeah)
Soul days, dancing with my baby
Swaying to the sweet soul days
And when the sun goes down
We're on the road again
There's white lines running down the highway
Slowly reeling us in
With the radio on
Singing to the sweet soul songs
And the music's playing through the night
Taking us back when everything was alright
Soul days
Talking about those sweet summer soul days
I'm talking about soul days
I'm going back to the sweet summer soul days
Hmm hmm soul days (soul days)
I wanna hear some Wilson Pickett, some Joe Tex
I wanna hear some Sam & Dave (oh yes you do)
Hey, Sam, I wanna hear some Aretha (and I wanna hear some Ray Charles)
And some soulful Sam Cooke now (what about that)
I wanna hear some Arthur Conley (well what about Edwin Starr)
Oh yeah
Come on, sing it with me...
[Fades out]
SOUL DAYS is a 2001 song by Dobie Gray. See the original Dobie Gray version for more details.
Bruce Springsteen released SOUL DAYS on his 2022 album Only The Strong Survive. The song features a guest appearance by Sam Moore on backing vocals. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of SOUL DAYS as released on Only The Strong Survive.
There's no information on when exactly SOUL DAYS was recorded, but, just like all other songs on Only The Strong Survive, it was likely cut sometime between late 2020 and mid-2022. See the "Only The Strong Survive" section below for more details.
Track credits:
Bruce Springsteen: lead vocal, guitar
Sam Moore: harmony and second vocals
Ron Aniello: drums, bass, percussion, guitar, piano, organ
E Street Horns: horns
Only The Strong Survive is Bruce Springsteen's twenty-first studio album. It was officially released on 11 Nov 2022 on Columbia Records. It consists of 15 tracks, all of which are covers. This marks the second time that Springsteen releases a cover album following We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions in 2006.
The album is "a collection of fifteen soul music greats," as described in the press release. It "celebrates soul music gems from the legendary catalogues of Motown, Gamble and Huff, Stax and many more." Springsteen commented: "I wanted to make an album where I just sang. And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies? I've taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray, and Scott Walker, among many others. I've tried to do justice to them all and to the fabulous writers of this glorious music. My goal is for the modern audience to experience its beauty and joy, just as I have since I first heard it. I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it."
Only The Strong Survive was tracked at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Colts Neck, NJ, following the sessions for Letter To You, which took place around November 2020. The core recording featured only Bruce Springsteen and producer Ron Aniello. In addition to lead vocals, Springsteen played guitar and keys on some tracks and Aniello played virtually every other instrument. Additional parts, including horns, strings, and background vocals were recorded at Power Station At BerkleeNYC in New York City, NY. Sam Moore makes a guest appearance on the album, singing harmony vocals on two tracks. His parts were recorded at Bullseye Studios in Miami, FL, with Andres Bermudezat engineering. Only The Strong Survive was produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen, executive produced by Jon Landau, engineered by Rob Lebret and Ron Aniello at Thrill Hill Recording, mixed by Rob Lebret with Ron Aniello at Thrill Hill Recording, and mixed by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, ME.
Only The Strong Survive was officially announced on 29 Sep 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (02:00 p.m. GMT). The announcement was made by Springsteen himself who addressed fans in a pre-recorded video posted online a few minutes earlier.
In anticipation to the announcement, Springsteen dropped hints on his social media accounts over the course of the previous three days. On 26 and 27 September, he shared each morning a photo of a road and of a steering wheel respectively, without any caption or comment.
On 28 September, he posted a 26-second promo clip of a vintage car FM radio dial turning to different stations and listening in for a few seconds, each station playing a different song from the upcoming album.
Only The Strong Survive is available as a single-disc CD and as a two-disc LP set, as well as digital download and streaming. Three editions of the vinyl release were issued: a regular edition on black vinyl, a limited edition on nightshade green vinyl exclusive to Bruce Springsteen's official webstore, and a limited edition on sundance orange or orbit orange vinyl exclusive to independent retailers.
Side 1:
Side 2:
Side 3:
As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed SOUL DAYS live.
If you have any corrections or additions, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of SOUL DAYS on this website:
SOUL DAYS [Album version]
