Working on the Highway

"Working on the Highway" is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was released on the album Born in the U.S.A. and has remained a popular concert song for Springsteen and the E Street Band.

"Working on the Highway"
Song by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Born in the U.S.A.
ReleasedJune 4, 1984
RecordedMay 6, 1982[1]
StudioThe Power Station in New York
GenreHeartland rock
Length3:11
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s)
Born in the U.S.A. track listing
12 tracks
Side one
  1. "Born in the U.S.A."
  2. "Cover Me"
  3. "Darlington County"
  4. "Working on the Highway"
  5. "Downbound Train"
  6. "I'm on Fire"
Side two
  1. "No Surrender"
  2. "Bobby Jean"
  3. "I'm Goin' Down"
  4. "Glory Days"
  5. "Dancing in the Dark"
  6. "My Hometown"

As with some of the other songs on the Born in the U.S.A. album, including "Downbound Train" and the title track, "Working on the Highway" was originally recorded on January 3, 1982, with the demo tracks that eventually became the Nebraska album.[2][3] The acoustic version of the song had a working title of "Child Bride", and did not include the rock melody or the title refrain.[2] The version of the song that was released on the album was recorded on May 6, 1982 at the Power Station, at the end of the "Electric Nebraska" sessions.[1][3][4]

Although "Working on the Highway" was not one of the seven Born in the U.S.A. songs to be released as a single, it remained popular in concert, with 367 performances through 2016. It is nearly always paired with "Darlington County" in performance.

At a July 26, 1992 performance of the song, Springsteen's mother danced with her son towards the end of the song, prompting Springsteen to say "A boy's best friend is his mother," referencing a line from the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho.

References
  1. Heylin, Clinton (2012). Song By Song. London: Penguin. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  2. Kirkpatrick, R. (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 82, 96–97. ISBN 978-0-275-98938-5.
  3. Marsh, D. (2004). Two Hearts. Psychology Press. p. 341.
  4. Sandford, C. (1999). Springsteen: Point Blank. Da Capo Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-306-80921-7.


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