Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are generally regarded as one of the … Read Full Bio ↴Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are generally regarded as one of the best live bands ever. Famous for their extremely long concerts, the band is well-respected throughout rock. Note that only live recordings can be credited to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. The official artist credit for all of Bruce Springsteen's studio recordings (even for those recorded with the E Street Band as his studio band) is Bruce Springsteen.

Since forming in 1972, the band's members have changed; however, core members include saxophonist Clarence Clemons, organist Danny Federici, bassist Garry Tallent, drummer Max Weinberg, pianist Roy Bittan and, of course, guitarist/singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen. Guitarist Steven Van Zandt joined the band while recording Born to Run and made this record at least possible. He became one of the most honored and most influential members.

Other musicians important to the band include guitarist Nils Lofgren (who stepped in after Van Zandt quit); guitarist/singer Patti Scialfa (who is also Springsten's wife); and pianist David Sancious and drummers "Mad Dog" Vini Lopez and Ernest "Boom" Carter, who all had left the band prior to Born to Run. Also, The Rising tour saw the official addition of violinist Soozie Tyrell.

In 1989 the band split up, after the massive success of the Born in the USA tour and the quieter Tunnel of Love tour. However, in 1999, the band reunited and embarked on a rather successful 18-month reunion tour - the "E-United Tour" - and now were powered by three guitars (Springsteen, Van Zandt and Lofgren, with Scialfa usually playing a fourth, acoustic guitar).

Following the events of September 11, 2001, Springsteen and the Band embarked on their first studio recordings (excepting a short recording session for Springsteen's 1995 Greatest Hits album) since 1984's Born in the U.S.A. The band recorded The Rising in 2002, and then hit the road for another marathon, two-year tour.

After The Rising, Springsteen recorded two more albums without the E Streeters followed by "Magic", released in October 2007 and featuring the hit single "Radio Nowhere". Magic was followed up by a traditionally strong tour throughout 2008, during which original band-member and friend Danny Federici passed away. Federici had already been temporarily replaced by Charlie Giordano, with whom Springsteen played the year before during the Seeger Sessions. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rounded the 100-show tour at Harley-Davidson's 105th anniversary celebration.

On January 27, 2009 Springsteen's twenty-fourth album "Working on a Dream" will be released. According to the official press release, Working on a Dream was recorded with the E Street Band and features twelve new Springsteen compositions plus two bonus tracks. It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O'Brien, who produced and mixed the album. A new tour for 2009 is expected to be announced soon. Springsteen and the E Street Band will play The Super Bowl halftime show on February 1, 2009.

Saturday 27th July 2009 saw Bruce and the E-Streeters played The Glastonbury Festival, England. This was the band's first-ever UK festival performance, a total of 135,000 people watched an epic, two-and-a-half hour headlining set.

Current members
* Bruce Springsteen - lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano
* Garry Tallent - bass guitar, tuba
* Max Weinberg - drums, percussion (joined September 1974)
* Roy Bittan - piano, synthesizer (joined September 1974)
* Steven Van Zandt - lead guitar, mandolin, backing vocals (officially joined July 1975 after playing in previous bands; left in 1984 to go solo; rejoined in early 1995) Steven Van Zandt
* Nils Lofgren - guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals (replaced Steven Van Zandt in June 1984; remained in group after Van Zandt returned)
* Patti Scialfa - backing and duet vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion (joined June 1984; became Springsteen's wife in 1991; they have a daughter and two sons)
* Soozie Tyrell - violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals (joined 2002, occasional appearances before that)

Former members
* Vinnie 'Mad Dog' Lopez - drums (inception through February 1974, when asked to resign)
* David Sancious - keyboards (June 1973 to August 1974)
* Ernest 'Boom' Carter - drums (February to August 1974)
* Suki Lahav - violin, backing vocals (September 1974 to March 1975)
* Danny Federici - organ, electronic glockenspiel, accordion, other keyboards (on medical leave of absence from late November 2007, temporarily replaced by Charles Giordano) (Danny passed away on April 17, 2008 after a battle with cancer.)
* Clarence Clemons - saxophone, percussion, backing vocals, larger-than-life persona and Springsteen foil (died 2011)

Darlington County
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Driving in to Darlington County
Me and Wayne on the Fourth of July
Driving in to Darlington County
Looking for some work on the county line
We drove down from New York City
Where the girls are pretty but they just want to know your name
Driving in to Darlington City
Got a union connection with an uncle of Wayne's

We drove eight hundred miles without seeing a cop
We got rock and roll music blasting off the T-top, singing

Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la, hey eh
Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la

Hey little girl standing on the corner
Today's your lucky day for sure all right
Me and my buddy we're from New York City
We got two hundred dollars we want to rock all night
Girl you're looking at two big spenders
Why the world don't know what me and Wayne might do
Our pa's each own one of the World Trade Centers
For a kiss and a smile I'll give mine all to you
Come on baby take a seat on my fender
It's a long night and tell me what else were you gonna do
Just me and you, we could

Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la

Little girl sitting in the window
Ain't seen my buddy in seven days, play it boys
County man tells me the same thing
He don't work and he don't get paid
Little girl you're so young and pretty
Walk with me and you can have your way
And we'll leave this Darlington City
For a ride down that Dixie Highway

Driving out of Darlington County
Eyes seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
Driving out of Darlington County
Seen Wayne handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper's Ford

Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la

Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la

Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la

Sha la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la

Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la la la

Overall Meaning

In "Darlington County," Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band sing about the story of two guys, Wayne and the singer, who come from New York City to Darlington County to look for work on the county line. They drive eight hundred miles without seeing a cop with "rock and roll music blasting off the T-top." They roll into Darlington City with a union connection through Wayne's uncle. The story's main character, the singer, meets a little girl standing on the corner; they both hit it off, and he offers her $200 to go on a long ride with him. He tells her he is from New York, and his father co-owns one of the World Trade Centers, making the girl's lucky day. The two drive around for a while, singing "Sha la la" as they cruise.

The song has clear storytelling and a catchy melody meant to get you moving. The idea is to embrace a sense of optimism and adventure, making it feel thematic in nature. The song is an invitation to unlock your passenger door, roll down the windows, and dive into small-town America, enjoying the sights and sounds of scrubby back roads and American hearts. The lyrics allow common people to dream, making it an inspiration to youth who want to explore and experience the world.

Line by Line Meaning

Driving in to Darlington County
The singer and Wayne are driving to Darlington County, probably to find work

Me and Wayne on the Fourth of July
The singer and Wayne are driving on Independence Day

Driving in to Darlington County
The singer and Wayne are still driving to Darlington County

Looking for some work on the county line
The artist and Wayne are specifically looking for work on the county line

We drove down from New York City
The artist and Wayne came from New York City

Where the girls are pretty but they just want to know your name
Girls in New York City are pretty, but are only interested in superficial things

Driving in to Darlington City
The singer and Wayne are nearing Darlington City

Got a union connection with an uncle of Wayne's
Wayne's uncle has connections to a union, which could be useful for finding work

We drove eight hundred miles without seeing a cop
The drive was uneventful and did not encounter any law enforcement officers

We got rock and roll music blasting off the T-top, singing
The artist and Wayne are blasting rock music from their car and singing along

Hey little girl standing on the corner
The singer and Wayne see a young woman standing on the corner

Today's your lucky day for sure all right
The artist is implying that he is the lucky person for meeting her

Me and my buddy we're from New York City
The singer and Wayne are letting the young woman know where they're from

We got two hundred dollars we want to rock all night
The singer and Wayne have some money and want to have a good time

Girl you're looking at two big spenders
The singer sees himself and Wayne as big spenders with money to spare

Why the world don't know what me and Wayne might do
The artist is implying that he and Wayne might do something unexpected or exciting

Our pa's each own one of the World Trade Centers
The artist is implying that he and Wayne come from wealthy families

For a kiss and a smile I'll give mine all to you
The singer is offering to give the young woman his share of the World Trade Centers for a kiss and a smile

Come on baby take a seat on my fender
The singer is inviting the young woman to sit on the car's fender

It's a long night and tell me what else were you gonna do
The artist is suggesting that the young woman probably doesn't have any other plans for the night

Just me and you, we could
The artist is making a suggestive comment to the young woman

Little girl sitting in the window
The artist is referring to a different young woman, who is sitting in a window

Ain't seen my buddy in seven days, play it boys
The singer hasn't seen his friend ('buddy') in a while, and is asking the band to play music

County man tells me the same thing
Someone from the county (possibly an authority figure) tells the artist the same thing as the previous young woman

He don't work and he don't get paid
The county man doesn't work and isn't paid

Little girl you're so young and pretty
The singer is complementing the young woman's attractiveness

Walk with me and you can have your way
The singer is asking the young woman to walk with him, implying that she could benefit from it

And we'll leave this Darlington City
The artist is suggesting that he and the young woman leave Darlington City together

For a ride down that Dixie Highway
The artist and young woman will take a drive down Dixie Highway

Eyes seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
The singer has witnessed something glorious, possibly relating to religion

Seen Wayne handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper's Ford
The singer has seen Wayne being arrested and handcuffed to a police car