"Independence Day" is a song written and performed 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 originally released on his fifth 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 ...

'', in 1980. It was recorded 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 * '' ...

, on April 24–25, 1980.

Content

In 2015, Springsteen stated that he regards "Independence Day," "

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel par ...

," " Stolen Car" and the title track as being "the heart and soul" of ''The River'' album. "Independence Day", along with the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

, " Wreck on the Highway" and "

", is one of the verse-chorus songs on ''The River'' that was essentially a short story or character sketch. It is one of the darker hued songs on ''The River''. The lyrics are about a home that can no longer hold both father and son. The song is sung by the son to the father, opening with the line "Papa go to bed now, it's getting late", reversing the usual command of a father to a son. The son recognizes that despite their similarities, the father and son would never agree but just continue to argue constantly, and so it was time for the son to leave home.

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 William Ruhlmann said "Independence Day is an unusually sad, beautiful and private song, with a slow

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

and a languid

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

solo, as well as delicate organ and acoustic

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

work". The song has been described as Springsteen's best recorded vocal, with an unerring sincerity which fuels the song. Although released on ''The River'' in 1980, "Independence Day" was written in 1977 and was originally played in the

Darkness on the Edge of Town tour Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year, in conjunction with the release of Springsteen's album ''Darkness on the Edge of ...

. "Independence Day" has been a reasonably popular concert song, with 199 performances through 2015. A concert version of "Independence Day" was released on the live album '' Live/1975–85''. "Independence Day" was released as the B-side on the single release of "

" in several countries and as the B-side of " Sherry Darling" in others.

Personnel

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

– vocals, guitars *

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 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 Daniel Paul Federici (January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008) was an American musician, best known as the organ, glockenspiel, and accordion player and a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. In 2014, Federici was posthumously induct ...

– 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 bass player and founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band si ...

– 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, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

– guitars *

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'' a ...

– drums

References

External links

Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net
{{authority control Bruce Springsteen songs 1980 songs Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Jon Landau Columbia Records singles Songs about parenthood Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Steven Van Zandt