JUNGLELAND 
Album version
The rangers had a homecoming in Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town rolls up his pants, together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane
Well the Maximum Lawman run down Flamingo chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids 'round here look just like shadows, always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand down in Jungleland
The midnight gang's assembled and picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light
Man, there's an opera out on the Turnpike, there's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops, Cherry Tops, rips this holy night
The street's alive as secret debts are paid, contacts made, they vanished unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted explode into rock and roll bands
They faced off against each other out in the street down in Jungleland
In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing to the records that the deejay plays
Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners desperate as the night moves on
Just one look and a whisper, they're gone
Beneath the city two hearts beat, soul engines running through a night so tender
In a bedroom locked, in whispers of soft refusal and then surrender
In the tunnels uptown, the Rat's own dream guns him down as shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light
Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz between what's flesh and what's fantasy
And the poets down here don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment and try to make an honest stand
But they wind up wounded, not even dead, tonight in Jungleland
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Info
JUNGLELAND is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on his 1975 album Born To Run. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's album version of JUNGLELAND as released in 1975.
The album version of JUNGLELAND was included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003 edition) compilation album.
Writing and Recording
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In his 1989 book Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music, Charles R. Cross mentions a list of songs titled "New Album #3" that Springsteen wrote when he "first planned the third record." The list seems to emanate from very early in the Born To Run recording sessions, which started in January 1974. Among the nine songs in the list is JUNGLELAND.
Born To Run
The Born To Run recording sessions can be divided into two phases: the 1974 sessions and the 1975 sessions. The first phase consisted of scattered sessions conducted between May and October 1974 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY, while Springsteen and the band were still in the midst of The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. When the lengthy tour came to an end in March 1975, the recording sessions continued at The Record Plant in New York City, NY, in March 1975 and lasted till July. 914 Sound Studios was Mike Appel's studio of choice, but The Record Plant was advised by Springsteen's friend and future manager Jon Landau. All tracks on the Born To Run album, except the title track, were recorded during these Mar-Jul 1975 sessions.
Born To Run was commercially released on Columbia Records 01 Sep 1975. Note that a small quantity of blank label, advanced promo copies (known as the "Script Covers") were issued to VIPs on or around 12 Aug 1975, and normal promo copies were sent to radio stations on or around 24 Aug 1975. The album peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It also reached #36 on the UK Album Chart. The album re-entered the Billboard 200 in the eighties, reaching #66 in 1980 and #101 in 1985. The 30th anniversary reissue reached #18 in 2005.
Bruce Springsteen -- Born To Run
The album features 8 new Springsteen compositions and clocks at 39:26. It is produced by Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, and Jon Landau.
The Essential Bruce Springsteen
The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released as part of Sony BMG'S (previously Sony Music Entertainment) series of "Essential" sets. According to Springsteen's liner notes comments, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour.
The collection is fundamentally a 2-disc set (clocking at 153:37) compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Live In New York City release. A 3-disc limited edition (clocking at 201:04) was also released. It includes a bonus third disc comprising of a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.
The Essential Bruce Springsteen was released on 11 Nov 2003 on Columbia Records. It debuted and peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart where it spent 13 weeks. It also reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records by the RIAA on 16 Dec 2003.
Bruce Springsteen -- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003 edition)
The Essential Bruce Springsteen was reissued on 16 Oct 2015, this time as a 2-disc set (clocking at 156:25) with an updated track list, compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Greatest Hits (1995 edition) collection. This 2015 reissue features remastered tracks not found in that form on other Springsteen releases.
Bruce Springsteen -- The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2015 edition)
Other Official Releases
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Bruce Springsteen -- Last American Hero From Asbury Park, N.J.
LP - CBS/Sony (YAPC 95) - Japan, 1978
Japan-only promotional LP sampler issued to promote Springsteen's fourth album,
Darkness On The Edge Of Town, though strangely including tracks from his first three albums only. This is one of the rarest Springsteen records ever.
Bruce Springsteen -- Storia E Musica Rock: Bruce Springsteen
MC - CBS (ROCK 05) - Italy, 1982
Italy-only cassette tape sampler issued exclusively with domestic magazine
Storia E Musica Rock and compiling 7 tracks from Springsteen's first four albums.
Bruce Springsteen -- From The Film: Dead End Street
12" EP - CBS (DJ 428) - Israel, 1982
Israel-only promotional EP issued to promote a local movie called "Dead End Street" ("Kvish L'Lo Motzah" in Hebrew). See the "Appearance in Movies" section below for more details about the film.
A1-
JUNGLELAND
A2-
HUNGRY HEART
A3-
POINT BLANK
Bruce Springsteen -- Rocks Vol. 1 (1973 - 1982)
CD-R - Sony (no catalog number) - Japan, 2005
Japan-only promotional "Digest" CD-R advance sampler tying in with the release of the first six Japanese 2005 "mini-LP"-style Springsteen CD album reissues. This disc comes in a plain slimline jewel case with no artwork.
Other versions of JUNGLELAND were also officially released.
The live 18 Oct 1975 (early show) version of JUNGLELAND was released on The Roxy 1975 official live download in 2018.
The live 18 Nov 1975 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 album and home video in 2005.
The live 24 Nov 1975 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the London 11/24/1975 official live download in 2020.
The live 31 Dec 1975 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Tower Theater, Philadelphia 1975 official live download in 2015.
The live 07 Feb 1977 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Palace Theatre, Albany 1977 official live download in 2017.
The live 08 Feb 1977 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY 1977 official live download in 2017.
The live 01 Jul 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Berkeley, July 1, 1978 official live download in 2021.
The live 09 Aug 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on The Agora, Cleveland 1978 official live download in 2014.
The live 19 Sep 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the September 19, 1978 official live download in 2019.
The live 20 Sep 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ September 20, 1978 official live download in 2017.
The live 30 Sep 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the September 30, 1978 official live download in 2020.
The live 08 Dec 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set in 2010.
The live 15 Dec 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Winterland 12/15/78 official live download in 2019.
The live 16 Dec 1978 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Winterland 12/16/78 official live download in 2019.
The live 05 Nov 1980 version of JUNGLELAND was released on The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set in 2015.
The live 29 Dec 1980 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Nassau Coliseum, New York 12/29/80 official live download in 2019.
The live 31 Dec 1980 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Nassau Coliseum, New York 1980 official live download in 2015.
The
live 05 Jun 1981 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the
Wembley Arena June 5, 1981 official live download in 2018.
The live 09 Jul 1981 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena 1981 official live download in 2020.
The live 05 Aug 1984 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey 1984 official live download in 2015.
The live 06 Aug 1984 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena August 6, 1984 official live download in 2020.
The live 20 Aug 1984 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena, NJ August 20, 1984 official live download in 2015.
The live 25 Sep 1999 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the First Union Center, Philadelphia September 25, 1999 official live download in 2020.
The live 23 Aug 2008 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO 8/23/2008 official live download in 2017.
The live 04 May 2009 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the Nassau Coliseum 05.04.09 official live download in 2020.
The live 29 Oct 2009 version of JUNGLELAND was released on The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Concerts album and home video in 2010.
The live 22 Sep 2012 version of JUNGLELAND was released on East Rutherford, NJ 09.22.12 official live download in 2019.
The live 12 Nov 2012 version of JUNGLELAND was released on the St. Paul, MN Nov 12, 2012 official live download in 2020.
Live History: on-tour
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Live History: off-tour
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JUNGLELAND was performed off-tour on 21 and 22 Sep 1979 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, during the MUSE Concerts For A Non-Nuclear Future. The live 21 Sep 1979 version and the live 22 Sep 1979 version of JUNGLELAND were released on the No Nukes 1979 official live download in 2018.
Appearance in Movies
Bruce Springsteen's album version of JUNGLELAND appears in 3 movies.
Kvish L'Lo Motzah
The 1982 Israeli film
Dead End Street ("Kvish L'Lo Motzah" in Hebrew), directed Yaky Yosha and starring Yehoram Gaon and Anat Azmon, is the first ever theatrical film to feature the music of Bruce Springsteen. It uses three Springsteen songs:
JUNGLELAND (used in two places ─ only the dramatic final chords),
HUNGRY HEART (used in two places), and
POINT BLANK (used in four places, including over the opening and the closing credits). The three songs were also included in the film's promo-only soundtrack EP.
Director Yaky Yosha was a fiend of Suki Lahav, then the wife of Louis Lahav, who was Springsteen's recording engineer between 1972 and 1975. Suki Lahav also sang backing vocals and played violin during the recording sessions for
The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle and
Born To Run, but most of her parts did not make it to released form, with the exception of the choir-like backing vocals on
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY), the violin on
JUNGLELAND, and harmony vocals on
ZERO AND BLIND TERRY. She also she joined the E Street Band on the road for six months as a guest violinist and backing singer.
In an interview published in issue #16 (Winter/Spring 1986), Suki Lahav told
Backstreets magazine: "About four years back, a film producer friend of mine wanted to use three of Bruce's songs for an Israeli film of his. He had trouble getting the okay from CBS. So I called Bruce up on the phone. It took a few days to find him at home but in the end he answered. He was really pleased to hear from me and right away said that there's no problem in using these songs. He was really nice about it."
Baby It's You
It was used in the 1983 film
Baby It's You, directed John Sayles and starring Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano.
Director John Sayles used five Bruce Springsteen songs in the soundtrack of
Baby It's You. These were
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY,
THE E STREET SHUFFLE,
JUNGLELAND,
SHE'S THE ONE, and
ADAM RAISED A CAIN. Sayles told
Backstreets magazine in 1983, "We sent him the script and he really liked it. He sent his manager to see it and then Bruce said we could have [the songs]. We didn't even have to pay a whole bunch of money for them. I was really honored." The relation continued through the years, as Sayles would direct Springsteen's videos for
BORN IN THE U.S.A. in 1984 and
I'M ON FIRE and
GLORY DAYS in 1985. Springsteen would later record
LIFT ME UP for Sayles' 1999 film
Limbo.
Contrary to common beliefs,
Baby It's You was not the first ever theatrical film to feature the music of Bruce Springsteen. The first was
Dead End Street, a 1982 Israeli film directed by Yaky Yosha.
Blinded By The Light
It was used in the 2019 film
Blinded By The Light, directed by Gurinder Chadha and starring Viveik Kalra. The song was not included in the film's soundtrack album.
See
I'LL STAND BY YOU (the "
Blinded By The Light" section) for more details.
Covers
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At least 7 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's JUNGLELAND.
John Bayless -- Greetings From John Bayless
CD - Megaforte Digital / Atlantic Records (81906-2) - USA, 1988
This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album.
Cory Arcangel -- The Bruce Springsteen Born To Run Glockenspiel Addendum
12" EP - no label (GA001) - USA, 2006
Contains glockenspiel arrangements of five songs from Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run.
Mount Pleasant -- Born To Run
Digital album - no label (no catalog number) - New New Zealand, 2010
This is a free download-only digital Bruce Springsteen tribute album.
Various artists -- Springsteen Session 2011
2xCD - B Street Productions / Suisa (no catalog number) - Switzerland, 2012
This is a live Bruce Springsteen tribute album recorded on 11 Nov 2011 at Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche in Bäretswil, Switzerland. JUNGLELAND is performed by Mouse.
Lullaby Teddy -- Easy Listening Tribute To Bruce Springsteen
Digital album - Lullaby Teddy (unknown catalog number) - unknown country, 2015
This is a download-only digital Bruce Springsteen tribute album.
Relaxing Piano Covers -- Tribute To Bruce Springsteen
Digital album - Relaxing Piano Covers (unknown catalog number) - USA, 2015
This is a download-only digital Bruce Springsteen tribute album.
Jonathan Rado -- Born To Run
LP - Sounds Delicious (SD002) - USA, 2017
This is a Bruce Springsteen tribute album.
Available Versions
List of available versions of JUNGLELAND on this website:
JUNGLELAND [Album version]
JUNGLELAND [Live 21 Sep 1979 version]
JUNGLELAND [Live 22 Sep 1979 version]
JUNGLELAND [Live 05 Jun 1981 version]
JUNGLELAND [Live 28 Jul 2012 version]
Page last updated: 08 May 2016
