It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
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"It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. in 1973. It is about a young man growing up on the streets of a city, and who is trying to stay good and do what he believes is right. Unfortunately, he is inexorably dragged into some very unsaintly activities. A 1975 live version can be found on the DVD of the Hammersmith Odeon concert that is included in the Born to Run (30th Anniversary Edition) and the Hammersmith Odeon London '75 CDs.[1][2] A 1978 live version is included in the Live/1975–85 set. The song has also been covered by David Bowie.[3] John Sayles included this song in a high school lunchroom scene of his movie Baby It's You.[4]
| "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Bruce Springsteen | |
| from the album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. | |
| Released | January 5, 1973 |
| Recorded | 1972 |
| Studio | 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:13 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Springsteen |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. track listing | |
9 tracks Side one
Side two
| |
This is the song that impressed producer Mike Appel so much that he quit his job to become Springsteen's manager, even though Springsteen did not have a record contract yet.[5] This was also the first song Springsteen played at his audition at CBS Records for John Hammond, who eventually signed him to a record contract, on May 2, 1972.[5][6] The following day, Springsteen recorded "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" as part of a 12-song demo for Hammond.[5][6] The demo version of the song was released on Tracks in 1998. The version included on Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. was recorded during the summer of 1972 backed by future E-Street Band members David Sancious on piano, Vini Lopez on drums and Garry Tallent on bass.[7]
David Bowie recorded a version of "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" in late 1973 during the sessions for his album Diamond Dogs (1974). It remained unreleased until 1989, when it was included on the box set Sound + Vision. Bowie had previously taped renditions of Springsteen's other Greetings songs "Growin' Up" and "Spirit in the Night".[8][9] Bowie attempted another version of "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" in November 1974 during the sessions for Young Americans (1975). Springsteen himself stopped by during the session at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. Bowie recalled that he struggled to relate to Springsteen due to his cocaine addiction at the time, and never played Springsteen his version because he was unhappy with it.[8][9]
Personnel Edit
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:[10]
- Bruce Springsteen – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez – drums
- Garry Tallent – bass
- David Sancious – piano
References Edit
- ^ "Born to Run (30th Anniversary Edition)". Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ "Hammersmith Odeon, London '75". Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ "Allmusic It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
- ^ Dave Marsh (1996). Glory Days. p. 296. ISBN 1-56025-101-8.
- ^ a b c Rob Kirkpatrick (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen. pp. 12–16. ISBN 978-0-275-98938-5.
- ^ a b "The Demo Sessions". Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ "Greetings from Asbury Park". Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ a b Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.
- ^ a b O'Leary, Chris (2015). "Chapter 8". Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from '64 to '76. Winchester: Zero Books. ISBN 978-1-78099-244-0.
- ^ Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020). Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-78472-649-2.