Darlington County (song)

"Darlington County"
Song by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Born in the U.S.A.
Released	June 4, 1984
Recorded	April – May 1982
Studio	The Power Station in New York
Genre	Rock
Length	4:48
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s)	Jon Landau Chuck Plotkin Bruce Springsteen Steve Van Zandt

Born in the U.S.A. track listing
show 12 tracks Side one "Born in the U.S.A." "Cover Me" "Darlington County" "Working on the Highway" "Downbound Train" "I'm on Fire" Side two "No Surrender" "Bobby Jean" "I'm Goin' Down" "Glory Days" "Dancing in the Dark" "My Hometown"

"Darlington County" 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.

Lyrics[]

The lyrics concern the protagonist and his buddy driving to Darlington County "looking for work on the county line", meeting girls along the way. The actual Darlington County is in South Carolina.

Background[]

The version of the song that was released on the album was recorded in April or May 1982 at the Power Station in one of the early Born in the U.S.A. recording sessions.^[1]

Cover versions[]

Jeff Stevens and the Bullets took a cover version to #69 on the Hot Country Songs charts in 1987.

Live performance history[]

"Darlington County" was played in every leg of the Born in the U.S.A. Tour. The song did not emerge again until four days after the breakup with the Other Band. During the 1999 Reunion Tour, the song was performed frequently. It has remained popular in concert, and is often paired with "Working on the Highway" in performance. When performing the song live, Springsteen frequently plays the first few bars of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women" before the first verse.^[2]^[3]

References[]

^ "Born In The USA - Studio Sessions". BruceBase. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ "Setlists: 2000". Backstreets.com. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ Wosahla, Steve (January 30, 2016). "Bruce Springsteen Opens His Storybook--And Ours". No Depression. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

External links[]

Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net

show v t Bruce Springsteen
E Street Band: Bruce Springsteen Garry Tallent Roy Bittan Max Weinberg Steven Van Zandt Nils Lofgren Patti Scialfa Jake Clemons Charles Giordano Soozie Tyrell Former members Ernest Carter Clarence Clemons Danny Federici Vini Lopez David Sancious Former touring musicians Everett Bradley Barry Danielian Clark Gayton Curtis King Suki Lahav Ed Manion The Miami Horns Cindy Mizelle Michelle Moore Tom Morello Curt Ramm Jay Weinberg
Studio albums	Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973) Born to Run (1975) Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) The River (1980) Nebraska (1982) Born in the U.S.A. (1984) Tunnel of Love (1987) Human Touch (1992) Lucky Town (1992) The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) The Rising (2002) Devils & Dust (2005) We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) Magic (2007) Working on a Dream (2009) Wrecking Ball (2012) High Hopes (2014) Western Stars (2019) Letter to You (2020)
Live albums	Live 1975–85 (1986) In Concert/MTV Plugged (1993) Live in New York City (2001) Hammersmith Odeon London '75 (2006) Live in Dublin (2007) Live from the Carousel (2011) Springsteen on Broadway (2018)
Bruce Springsteen Archives	Apollo Theater 3/09/12 (2014) The Agora, Cleveland 1978 (2015) Tower Theater, Philadelphia 1975 (2015) Nassau Coliseum, New York 1980 (2015) Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey 1984 (2015) LA Sports Arena, California 1988 (2015) Schottenstein Center, Ohio 2005 (2015) Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome 2013 (2015) Arizona State University, Tempe 1980 (2015) The Christic Shows 1990 (2016) HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY, 11/22/09 (2016) Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO, 8/23/08 (2017) Olympiastadion, Helsinki, July 31, 2012 (2017) Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 10/20/09 (2017) Palace Theatre, Albany 1977 (2017) Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY 1977 (2017) King's Hall, Belfast March 19, 1996 (2017) The Summit, Houston, TX December 8, 1978 (2017) The Live Series: Songs of the Road (2018) The Live Series: Songs of Friendship (2019) The Live Series: Songs of Hope (2019) The Live Series: Songs of Love (2019) The Live Series: Songs from Around the World (2019) The Live Series: Songs Under Cover (2020)
Soundtracks	Western Stars – Songs from the Film (2019)
Compilations	Greatest Hits (1995) 18 Tracks (1999) The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003) Greatest Hits (2009) The Promise (2010) Collection: 1973–2012 (2013) Chapter and Verse (2016)
Box sets	The Born in the U.S.A. 12" Single Collection (1985) Tracks (1998) The Collection (2004) Born to Run: 30th Anniversary Edition (2005) The Collection 1973–1984 (2010) The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story (2010) The Album Collection Vol. 1 1973–1984 (2014) The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (2015) The Album Collection Vol. 2 1987–1996 (2018)
EPs	Live Collection (1987) Chimes of Freedom (1988) Blood Brothers (1996) PBS Exclusive (2007) Magic Tour Highlights (2008) American Beauty (2014)
Singles	"Blinded by the Light" (1973) "Spirit in the Night" (1973) "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" (1974) "Born to Run" (1975) "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (1976) "Prove It All Night" (1978) "Badlands" (1978) "The Promised Land" (1978) "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" (1979) "Hungry Heart" (1980) "Fade Away" (1981) "Sherry Darling" (1981) "The River" (1981) "Cadillac Ranch" (1981) "Point Blank" (1981) "Atlantic City" (1982) "Open All Night" (1982) "Dancing in the Dark" (1984) "Cover Me" (1984) "Born in the U.S.A." (1984) "I'm on Fire" (1985) "Glory Days" (1985) "I'm Goin' Down" (1985) "My Hometown" (1985) "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (1985) "War" (1986) "Fire" (1987) "Brilliant Disguise" (1987) "Tunnel of Love" (1987) "One Step Up" (1988) "Tougher Than the Rest" (1988) "Spare Parts" (1988) "Human Touch" (1992) "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" (1992) "Better Days" (1992) "Streets of Philadelphia" (1994) "Secret Garden" (1995) "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (1996) "Sad Eyes" (1999) "The Rising" (2002) "Lonesome Day" (2002) "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" (2003) "Devils & Dust" (2005) "All The Way Home" (2005) "Radio Nowhere" (2007) "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" (2008) "Working on a Dream" (2008) "My Lucky Day" (2008) "The Wrestler" (2009) "We Take Care of Our Own" (2012) "Death to My Hometown" (2012) "High Hopes" (2013) "Just Like Fire Would" (2014) "Hello Sunshine" (2019) "Tucson Train" (2019) "Letter to You" (2020) "Ghosts" (2020)
Charting songs	"Be True" (1981) "Ramrod" (1981) "Nebraska" (1982) "Johnny 99" (1982) "No Surrender" (1984) "Bobby Jean" (1984) "Stand on It" (1985) "Trapped" (live) (1985) "Because the Night" (live) (1986) "Chimes of Freedom" (live) (1988) "Youngstown" (1995) "American Skin (41 Shots)" (2001) "Pay Me My Money Down" (2006) "Long Walk Home" (2006) "My City of Ruins" (2011) "Rocky Ground" (2012) "The Power of Prayer" (2020)
Other notable songs	"Growin' Up" (1973) "For You" (1973) "Incident on 57th Street" (1973) "The Fever" (1973) "Thunder Road" (1975) "Night" (1975) "Backstreets" (1975) "She's the One" (1975) "Meeting Across the River" (1975) "Jungleland" (1975) "Adam Raised a Cain" (1978) "Racing in the Street" (1978) "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (1978) "Stay" (1979) "The Ties That Bind" (1980) "Independence Day" (1980) "Out in the Street" (1980) "Stolen Car" (1980) "Wreck on the Highway" (1980) "Highway Patrolman" (1982) "Darlington County" (1984) "Working on the Highway" (1984) "Downbound Train" (1984) "Pink Cadillac" (1984) "Jersey Girl" (1986) "Light of Day" (1993) "The New Timer" (1995) "Land of Hope and Dreams" (2012) "Hunter of Invisible Game" (2014) "Chinatown" (2020)
Video releases	Video Anthology / 1978–88 (1989) In Concert/MTV Plugged (1992) Blood Brothers (1996) The Complete Video Anthology / 1978–2000 (2001) Live in New York City (2001) Live in Barcelona (2003) VH1 Storytellers (2005) Wings for Wheels (2005) Hammersmith Odeon London '75 (2005) Live in Dublin (2007) Magic Tour Highlights (2008) London Calling: Live in Hyde Park (2010) The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010) Springsteen & I (2013) Born in the U.S.A. Live: London 2013 (2014) A MusiCares Tribute to Bruce Springsteen (2014) Bruce Springsteen's High Hopes (2014) High Hopes in South Africa (2014) Hunter of Invisible Game (2014)
Concerts	Born to Run tours (1974–77) Darkness Tour (1978) The River Tour (1980–81) Born in the U.S.A. Tour (1984–85) Tunnel of Love Express (1988) Human Rights Now! (1988) Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour (1992–93) Ghost of Tom Joad Tour (1995–97) Reunion Tour (1999–2000) Rising Tour (2002–03) Vote for Change (2004) Devils & Dust Tour (2005) Seeger Sessions Band Tour (2006) Magic Tour (2007–08) Working on a Dream Tour (2009) Wrecking Ball World Tour (2012–13) High Hopes Tour (2014) The River Tour (2016) Summer '17 (2017) Springsteen on Broadway (2017–18, 2021)
Related people	Jessica Springsteen Pamela Springsteen Jon Landau John Hammond Mike Appel Phil Petillo Marie Castello Southside Johnny Brendan O'Brien Ron Aniello Toby Scott Bob Clearmountain Chuck Plotkin Jimmy Iovine Dave Marsh Eric Meola Frank Stefanko Lynn Goldsmith Annie Leibovitz Danny Clinch
Related articles	Discography E Street Band Steel Mill The Sessions Band The Miami Horns Born to Run autobiography E Street Radio Little Steven's Underground Garage Outlaw Pete Columbia Records 914 Sound Studios Record Plant Power Station The Hit Factory The Max Weinberg 7 Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska Greetings from E Street Backstreets Magazine The Upstage Club The Stone Pony Fender Telecaster Freehold Borough, New Jersey Asbury Park, New Jersey "Because the Night" "Jersey Girl" Blinded by the Light (film)
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