"Be True" is a song by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

. It was recorded on July 18, 1979 at The Power Station in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in one of the early recording sessions for Bruce Springsteen's album ''

The River The River may refer to: Films * ''The River'' (1929 film), an American film by Frank Borzage * ''The River'' (1933 film), a Czech film by Josef Rovenský * ''The River'' (1938 film), an American film by Pare Lorentz * ''The River'' (1951 fi ...

''. It was not released on the album, but in 1981 it was released as the B-side to the single release of " Fade Away", a song taken from ''The River'' album. According to Springsteen, "Be True" was left off ''The River'' album in favor of the song "Crush on You", a decision he has a hard time understanding in retrospect. Springsteen was already second guessing his decision to exclude "Be True" from ''The River'' before the album was even released.

Composition

"Be True" is a mid-tempo

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

song. It had been slated to be included on ''The Ties That Bind'', a single album Springsteen had submitted to his record company in 1979 but then pulled back to be replaced by ''The River''. Music critic Clinton Heylin considers it one of the "centrepieces" of the would-be album.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

critic Mark Deming notes that unlike many songs in which movies are used "as a symbol of people’s hopes and dreams," in "Be True" those dreams "stand in the way of a better reality." Its lyrics, which "contrast the romance of life in movies with the loneliness of real life" fit with one of the major themes of ''The River'', that of the "conflict between dreams and reality." According to author Jane Skinner Sawyers, the lyrics of the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the v ...

. "You be true to me/And I'll be true to you" ""sum up Springsteen's philosophy." Sawyer considers that its sweetness and tenderness would have made it a top hit had it been released in the 1960s.

Recording history

"Be True" went through several versions before its final incarnation. The original version, recorded in the first half of 1979, was titled "Mary Lou," which was intended as a "really catchy three minute pop tune" which "moved lyrically" and "linked together in a certain way." In "Mary Lou", the singer sings to a woman he is interested in that she should not sell herself cheap but rather "be true to erselfin some fashion." According to Springsteen, the theme was "how do you find yourself through the falseness of some of those things." The second version of the song, officially "Little White Lies," but also known as "White Lies" and "Don't Do It To Me," was recorded in June 1979. It contains an intro similar to that on the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' single " Paint It, Black." Heylin claims that this version "explodes the moment the drums kick in" and that drummer Max Weinberg regards this version as one of his favorite

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

songs. The final incarnation of "Be True" was recorded on July 18, 1979.

Release history

In France, it was released as the B-side of the " Cadillac Ranch" single, and in Spain it was released as the B-side of the " Sherry Darling" single. Although left off the album and released only as a B-side of a single, "Be True" reached #42 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. A featured selection on the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express, a live version from that tour was included on the '' Chimes of Freedom'' EP. The live version also appeared on various different formats to promote the "Tougher Than The Rest" single release the same year. Eventually the studio version of "Mary Lou" and "Be True" were released on the Bruce Springsteen album '' Tracks'', a 4-disc box set released in 1998. "Little White Lies" was released on '' The Ties That Bind: The River Collection'' in 2015, along with "Mary Lou" and "Be True"; however, there are two circulating versions of "Little White Lies" that share the same music, but are lyrically two completely different songs. The unofficial studio "bootleg" version uses the same lyrics found in "Mary Lou" and "Be True" and does not contain "little white lies" anywhere in the lyrics, whereas the first verse from the official studio version of "Little White Lies" released in 2015 later appeared in "Loose Ends".

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: *

– vocals, guitars * Roy Bittan – piano *

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

– saxophone, tambourine * Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel * Garry Tallent – bass * Steven Van Zandt – guitars, vocal harmonies * Max Weinberg – drums

References

{{Authority control Bruce Springsteen songs 1979 songs 1981 singles Song recordings produced by Jon Landau Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Steven Van Zandt