THIS LITTLE GIRL

Gary U.S. Bonds' album version

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Here she comes, walking down the street
You know she's walking just like she's walking to come and see me
Oh she's so young
And she's so fine
I know what's on your mind, know what you want to do
But if you mess with her, I'm gonna mess with you
You better watch your step, you better stay in line

A-this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine

Well if the world were mine to do with what I want to do, sir
Well I'd wrap it up in a bow and give it all to her
Yeah, and all my love, all of the time
You know I'd hold her tight, I'd never let her go
And late at night you know I'd love her so
Yeah I'd treat her right, so she'd never mind
That

This little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine, mine, mine, mine

Hey!
You better watch out
I'm telling you the score
Or you're gonna be sweeping your broken heart up off the floor
Oh, and that ain't all
I'm telling you my friend

I know what's on your mind, know what you want to do
But if you mess with her, I'm gonna mess with you
You like the way she moves, you like to watch her walk
You better listen up, 'cause man, this ain't just talk
You better watch your step, you better stay in line

Now baby, I said
This little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
This little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine
Yeah yeah yeah
This little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine, all mine, now
This little girl is mine
Oh oh this little girl is mine
I said, this little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mine mine mine mine
This little girl is mine

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Info

THIS LITTLE GIRL is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and donated to Gary U.S. Bonds who released it on his 1981 album Dedication. The song is one of four on the album that were produced and arranged by Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen. The above lyrics are for Gary U.S. Bonds' album version of THIS LITTLE GIRL as released in 1981.

Studio Recording

Gary U.S. Bonds recorded the song during the Dedication album recording sessions in mid-1980 (see the "Dedication" section below for more details). It features Bruce Springsteen on backing vocals.

The 1991 reissue of Dedication on the Razor Edge label includes album liner note by Gary U.S. Bonds himself. He wrote: "One night, Bruce woke me up at four in the morning to play 'This Little Girl', a new song he had written for the album I told him that it would sound just as good if he played it for me the next morning." He also recounts that they made a music video for THIS LITTLE GIRL, but he made them pull it because, as he said, "I thought we looked stupid mouthing the words. I didn't want to be seen chasing some girl through the street of New York City or having a make believe fist fight with some guy while I was lip synching 'If you mess with her, I'm gonna mess with you. The music speaks for itself. You don't need to dress it up."

According to Brucebase, a Bruce Springsteen vocal rendition of THIS LITTLE GIRL was likely recorded at The Power Station in New York City, NY, during the June-August 1980 recording sessions with Gary U.S. Bonds.

Dedication

Gary U.S. Bonds released two studio albums and several hit singles in 1961 and 1962, three of which were top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Success was short-lived and Bonds relegated to playing the oldies circuit. In the early eighties, his career resurrected with two collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and the E Street Band: Dedication in 1981 and On The Line in 1982.

Dedication is Gary U.S. Bonds' third studio album, released in April 1981 on EMI America Records. The musicians backing Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band and the Asbury Jukes. The album includes three songs written by Bruce Springsteen (THIS LITTLE GIRL, YOUR LOVE, and DEDICATION), one written by Steve Van Zandt, and several covers of songs from The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, and others. Four of the album's songs (the three that Springsteen wrote plus JOLE BLON) were produced and arranged by Steven Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen provided shared lead vocals on JOLE BLON and backing vocals on THIS LITTLE GIRL. He is also credited for providing guitar but it's not clear on which tracks; it is likely that he played guitar on some or all of the four tracks that he co-produced.

Dedication was recorded sometime between June and August 1980 at The Power Station in New York City, NY, during Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band sessions for Gary U.S. Bonds undertaken in the immediate aftermath of the final recording sessions for The River. According to a May 1981 article by Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder, the initial plan was to record an EP for Gary U.S. Bonds consisting of three songs that Springsteen had written for him. Loder wrote that "Bruce had a lot of wild ideas, and pretty soon the EP started looking more like an LP. Fifteen days later, they emerged with a whole album."

Dedication reached #27 on Billboard's Top LPs & Tapes chart and #34 on the Top R&B Albums chart and produced several singles, including THIS LITTLE GIRL which was a hit. Music writer Dave Marsh called Dedication "one of the most successful comeback albums in rock & roll history".

Dedication was re-released in 1991 on the Razor Edge label (catalog number RE-1986-2).

Single Release

THIS LITTLE GIRL was released as a single in 1981. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #5 on Billboard's Top Tracks chart. The single was issued in North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Japan.

Other Official Releases

In addition to it's release on Dedication and as a single, THIS LITTLE GIRL was also included on a few other official releases.

Other versions of THIS LITTLE GIRL were also officially released.

Live History: on-tour

THIS LITTLE GIRL is known to have been performed at least twice during The River Tour (138 dates, October 1980 to September 1981), both in July 1981 in East Rutherford, NJ. A few setlists from that period are incomplete, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during The River Tour, but that's very unlikely. The song featured a guest appearance by Gary U.S. Bonds on both nights. The live 09 Jul 1981 version of THIS LITTLE GIRL was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena 1981 official live download in 2020.

THIS LITTLE GIRL was performed twice during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013), on 21 and 22 Sep 2012 in East Rutherford, NJ. The song featured a guest appearance by Gary U.S. Bonds on both nights. The live 22 Sep 2012 version of THIS LITTLE GIRL was released on the East Rutherford, NJ 09.22.12 official live download in 2019.

Live History: off-tour

THIS LITTLE GIRL was performed off-tour on 15 Jun 1981 at Old Waldorf in San Francisco, CA, where Bruce Springsteen made a guest appearance with Gary U.S. Bonds, playing a five-song set. No audio recording of this show is known to exist.

THIS LITTLE GIRL was performed off-tour on 02 Jul 1989 at The Cafe Bar in Long Branch, NJ, during a guest appearance with Gary U.S. Bonds.

THIS LITTLE GIRL was performed off-tour on 29 Apr 2003 at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, during "The Hope Concert" benefit. The song was played with Gary U.S. Bonds.

THIS LITTLE GIRL was performed during the fifteenth (2015) annual Light Of Day benefit. The song was played in a full-band arrangement, with La Bamba's Big Band and Friends.

Covers

At least 4 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's THIS LITTLE GIRL.

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics.

Some of the above info about the studio recordings is taken from Brucebase. Info for some of the above releases is taken from the Nebraska website.

Request

Please contact me if you have scans or info about any official release containing THIS LITTLE GIRL that's not mentioned on this page. I also need scans for the following releases:

• Gary U.S. Bonds -- "This Little Girl / Way Back When" || 7" single - Capitol (21514) - Chile (1981)
• Gary U.S. Bonds -- "This Little Girl / Way Back When" || 7" single - EMI America (8555) - Mexico, 1981
• Gary U.S. Bonds -- "This Little Girl / Way Back When" || 7" single - EMI America (F 8079) - New Zealand, 1981

Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: .

Available Versions

List of available versions of THIS LITTLE GIRL on this website:

THIS LITTLE GIRL [Gary U.S. Bonds' album version]
THIS LITTLE GIRL [Live 22 Sep 2012 version]

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Page last updated: 10 Jun 2019