FIRE

Live 13 Oct 1986 version

[Spoken intro:] Yeah, uh, Ah! Hmm, rock and roll. I don't know, I can't get too excited. Ah huh! Come on! Huh! Come on! Here, we, go! [starts the song but Nils Lofgren's guitar is out of tune] Uh... Danny, a little bit more, we'll be right with you [Danny Federici plays a snippet of Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll" on accordion] Ah, how sweet it is (chuckles). Come on! Huh! Come on! Here, we, go!

???

I'm driving in my car, I turn on the radio
I'm pulling you close, hmm you just say no
You say you don't like it, but girl I know you're a liar
'Cause when we kiss, ohh, fire

Well late at night, I'm taking you home
Well I say I wanna stay, you say you wanna be alone
You say you don't love me, but you can't hide your desire
And when we kiss, ohh, fire

Let's go!

You had a hold on me right from the start
And a grip so tight I can't tear it apart
My nerves all jumping acting like a fool
Your kisses they burn but your heart stays cool

[Spoken intro:] No, no, this is... I gotta stay calm. This is acoustic, ???. I can't, I can't do it. Alight, that can't be.

Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah
Baby you can bet their love they didn't deny
Your words say split, yeah but your words they lie
When we kiss, ohh, fire, fire
Whoa-whoa-whoa, fire
Fire
Hmm, fire
Whoa-whoa-whoa, fire
Hmm, fire
Hmm, fire
Oh that's bad, keep it going boys
I'm now coming baby, and you know what I like
Hmm, it's Burning in my soul
I just can't, I just can't, I just can't stand myself
Yeah!

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 13 Oct 1986 performance of FIRE at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, during the first annual Bridge School Benefit. The song was played in an acoustic arrangement featuring Bruce Springsteen on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Nils Lofgren on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, and Danny Federici on accordion.

Video footage of FIRE from this concert (minus the spoken intro) was released promotionally in late 1986 to coincide with the release of the Fire single (see the live 16 Dec 1978 version). It was later released commercially on Springsteen's Video Anthology / 1978-88 home video in 1989 and included on the Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- compilation album.

The 13 Oct 1986 Show

The Bridge School Benefit was an annual charity concert organized by Neil Young and his wife Pegi Young. Almost every one of these concerts, which were held in 1986 and from 1988 to 2016, has taken place at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Proceeds from the concerts benefited the Bridge School, a non-profit organization in Hillsborough, CA, for children with severe speech and physical impairments. The school aims to help the children achieve full participation in their communities through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Assistive Technologies (AT). It was founded in 1986 by Pegi Young, Jim Foreder and Dr. Marilyn Buzolich. On 14 Jun 2017, Neil and Pegi Young announced that the Bridge School Concerts would no longer continue. Bruce Springsteen has performed at two of these benefits: the first edition in 1986 and the ninth edition in 1995.

The first annual concert took place on 13 Oct 1986 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, and featured in the line-up Nils Lofgren, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Robin Williams, Bruce Springsteen, and host Neil Young who had his own special guests Crosby, Stills & Nash. Springsteen was backed by Nils Lofgren and Danny Federici during his set. The trio rehearsed earlier in the month in a studio in New York City, NY. In 2019, Nils Lofgren recounted getting a call from Springsteen to join him for the benefit.

Ticket stub for the 13 Oct 1986 Bridge School Benefit concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
(Taken from Brucebase)

Handwritten setlist for the 13 Oct 1986 Bridge School Benefit concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

In August 2019, Bruce Springsteen's complete 10-song set was officially released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net (see the "Official Live Downloads" section below for more details). The audio was recorded by Don Pearson and mixed by Don Pearson and Tim Mulligan. It was transferred from analog to digital by John Nowland, prepared and restored by Jon Altschiller with additional engineering by Danielle Warman, and mastered by Jon Altschiller. The beginning of the audio was missing from the master recording, so fan recordings and an alternate soundboard source were used to complete the performance. $2 from each purchase of this release were donated to The Bridge School. The release is dedicated to Elliot Roberts, Neil Young's manager, who passed away in June 2019.

Springsteen -- Bridge School October 13, 1986

Official Live Downloads

Prior to the High Hopes Tour, Bruce Springsteen's management announced a new service allowing fans to download concert recordings approximately 48 hours after each show. The initial plan required fans to purchase a special USB wristband, which could then be used to download a single High Hopes Tour show of the purchaser's choice and also functions as a regular reusable USB flash drive. The wristband, which could be purchased online or at the concert venue, was priced at $40. Following some negative response from fans over the high cost for the wristband, Springsteen's management subsequently announced a separate cheaper option for purchasing shows directly, without the need for the wristband. The shows were available for purchase and download via Live Nation, Bruce Springsteen's concert promoter, priced at $9.99 for MP3 and $14.99 for FLAC. Audio recordings for 31 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, and 03 May 2014) were released as such and they were available until 30 Jun 2014.

On 17 Nov 2014, Live.BruceSpringsteen.net was launched. It's a new addition to the official website, serving as an online store offering high-quality live concert recordings as well as high-resolution digital releases of Springsteen's album catalog. The download store is powered by Nugs.net in cooperation with Columbia Records. Audio recordings for 30 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, 03 May 2014, and 18 May 2014) were re-released on the new download store in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Nugs.net adopted the MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) format on 24 May 2017. From then on, all Bruce Springsteen live concert recordings, including the previously released ones, became also available in MQA.

Audio recordings for all 75 The River Tour 2016 dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Audio recordings for all 14 Summer '17 Tour dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Archival releases were periodically released on the same site, as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archive Series. These shows were also made available in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless FLAC or ALAC, 24-bit FLAC or ALAC or MQA, DSD, and audio CD-R. So far 90 shows (or sets of shows) were released from the ongoing series.

Video Anthology Home Video

Video Anthology / 1978-88 is a collection of 18 Bruce Springsteen music videos and concert performances, released on VHS on 31 Jan 1989. The home video was also released on LaserDisc.

Bruce Springsteen -- Video Anthology / 1978-88 (USA VHS cover art)

Bruce Springsteen -- Video Anthology / 1978-88 (USA LaserDisc cover art)

Bruce Springsteen -- Video Anthology / 1978-88 (Japan LaserDisc cover art)

Sonny reissued the video on DVD on 16 Jan 2001. Titled The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000, the new expanded release added a second disc with 15 additional music video, concert performances, and television appearances.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000 (DVD cover art)

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- is a Bruce Springsteen compilation album released by Sony Music Japan in 2023. The compilation, which was exclusively released in Japan, consists of previously released 35 audio tracks and 62 video tracks. The collection is part of a 26-title reissue campaign to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's debut album. The series, issued in three waves (25 Oct 2023, 22 Nov 2023, and 20 Dec 2023), includes 25 albums originally released between 1973 and 2014 plus a new compilation album that includes all of Springsteen's singles released in Japan from 1975 to 1999. All audio CD's were manufactured using Sony Japan's Blu-spec CD2 format.

Bruce Springsteen -- Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-

Available Versions

List of available versions of FIRE on this website:

Page last updated: 05 Jun 2015