"Adam Raised a Cain" is the second track from

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

's fourth album ''

Darkness on the Edge of Town ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 2, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded after a series of legal disputes between Springsteen and his ...

''.

Composition and lyrics

The song is notable for its

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

sound and lyrics that use biblical images to explain the relationship between a father and son (symbolised as

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

and his son,

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

). Springsteen calls this song "emotionally autobiographical." The bitter but loving relationship between the father and son is similar to Springsteen's with his own father, Douglas. Springsteen once said: "Our actual relationship was probably more complicated than how I presented it. Those songs were ways that I spoke to my father at the time, because he didn't speak and we didn't talk very much." Adam Raised A Cain by Bruce Springsteen
Songfacts In the 2010 documentary '' The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town'', sound mixer

Chuck Plotkin Charles Richard Plotkin (born September 8, 1942) is an American record producer, film producer, audio engineer and mixing engineer, best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Recording engineer Plotkin has recorded, enginee ...

described Springsteen's instructions for how the jarring assault of this song should sound next to the more melodic tunes on ''Darkness''. Springsteen told Plotkin to think of a movie showing two lovers having a picnic, when the scene suddenly cuts to a dead body. This song, the singer explained, is that body. Springsteen and the E Street Band released a longer version of the song on their 1986

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

'' Live/1975–85''.

Use in the media

The song was used in the film ''

Baby It's You "Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon (credited as Barney Williams), and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It ...

'', directed by

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' Matewan'' (1987), ...

, who would also direct Springsteen's video clips for "

Born in the U.S.A. ''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984, by Columbia Records. Produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, and Chuck Plotkin, the album was reco ...

", " I'm on Fire" and " Glory Days". The song was used in Season 7 during the opening scene of episode 13 "Papa's Goods," the series finale of ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

''. The creator of ''Sons of Anarchy''

Kurt Sutter Kurt Leon Sutter (born May 5, 1960) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He worked as a writer, director, and executive producer on ''The Shield,'' and appeared on the show as hitman Margos Dezerian. Sutter is also the cr ...

originally wanted to use the song as a cover in the final episode of Season 3, but there were issues with licensing from

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and Springsteen did not like the idea of a cover of his song. An agreement was finally reached where the song would be played in its original version for the series finale.

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon, and the album's liner notes: *

– vocals, lead guitar *

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

– piano *

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American saxophonist. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Clemons rel ...

– percussion, backing vocals *

Danny Federici Daniel Paul Federici (January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008) was an American musician, best known as a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, where he was its organist, accordionist and glockenspiel player. Federici appeared on ten ...

– organ *

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being the bass player and a founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing ...

– bass *

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

– guitars, backing vocals *

Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' an ...

– drums *The band – backing vocals

References

{{authority control 1978 songs Bruce Springsteen songs Song recordings produced by Jon Landau Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen Cultural depictions of Cain and Abel Songs based on the Bible