Official studio version
[Spoken intro:] To Johnny I wanna send out a big thanks for the inspiration. He kinda took the social consciousness from folk music and the gravity and humor from country music and the rebellion out of Rock and Roll and uh... and taught all those young guys that not only was it all right to, to tear up all those lines and boundaries a bit was important. And uh... this is a song I love from the early recordings for a long time, I hope you like it.
I found him by the railroad track this morning
I could see that he was nearly dead
I knelt down beside him and I listened
To the words dying fellow said
He said, they let me out of prison down in Frisco
For ten long years I've paid for what I've done
I was trying to get back home in Louisiana
Just to see my Rose and get to know my son
Give my love to Rose, won't you mister
Hey give her this money and tell her to buy some pretty clothes
Tell my boy his daddy's proud of him
Don't forget to give my love to Rose
Just tell 'em I said thanks for waiting for me
Tell my boy to help his mom, now he's got to be a man
You tell my Rose to go and find another
You tell her I'll understand
Mister, see this bag's got all my money
It ain't much nor lasting long I know
God bless you for finding me this morning
And don't forget to give my love to Rose
Give my love to Rose, won't you mister
You give her that money and tell her to buy some pretty clothes
Tell my son that his father loved him
And don't forget to give my love to Rose
[Spoken outro:] Thanks John.
GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE is a 1960 song by Johnny Cash. See the original Johnny Cash version for more details. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's studio version of GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE.
Bruce Springsteen was announced as a performer at the All Star Tribute To Johnny Cash that took place on 06 Apr 1999 at Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, NY, but his travel schedule prevented him from attending the event — he and the E Street Band were in Italy that night for The Reunion Tour. Instead, pre-taped video footage of him performing Johnny Cash's GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, was played on a screen over the stage during the Johnny Cash tribute concert. The rendition was recorded on 12 Feb 1999 at Thrill Hill East, Springsteen's home studio in Rumson, NJ. The song was recorded by Toby Scott and produced by Springsteen, but the identity of film director remains unknown. The concert was aired on the TNT television network at 8:00 PM on 18 Apr 1999.
The audio of Bruce Springsteen's studio version of GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE was officially released on Kindred Spirits: A Tribute To The Songs Of Johnny Cash, a various artists album released in September 2002 on the Lucky Dog label. However, though it appears identical, the recording released on the tribute album is different from the one broadcast on television — at least the vocal track is different from the first chorus onward. According to the tribute album's credits, the audio was recorded and mixed by Thom Cadley at Sony Music Studios in New York City, NY. Brian Vibberts assisted in recording and Dawn Rheinholz assisted in mixing.
At first, the plan was to release a live album and an accompanying video of the 1999 tribute concert to Johnny Cash, but, as Sony Nashville senior VP of sales Dale libbey told Billboard, "the album and video releases of the concert have been frozen in label disagreements over royalties and won't see daylight anytime soon." As a result, only Springsteen's and Bob Dylan's performances form the tribute concert were included on the Kindred Spirits: A Tribute To The Songs Of Johnny Cash album.
In 2008, an album and a home video of the aired 1999 Johnny Cash tribute concert were released by the Dutch label Immortal, which specializes in releasing unreleased (mainly live) recordings from well-known artists. This release is unauthorized but is lawful due to legal loopholes in the Europe.
Bruce Springsteen has never performed GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE live.
List of available versions of GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE on this website:
GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE [Official studio version]
