Songfacts®:

• Springsteen wrote this as a love song to his second wife, Patti Scialfa, whom he married in 1991. He called it, "One of my best songs about the dedication to one another that comes with love."
• "If I Should Fall Behind" is part of Springsteen's Lucky Town album, which he released in 1992 on the same day he released Human Touch. These albums were the first without the E Street Band, which got E Street Disbanded in 1989 so Springsteen could downsize. Many of the songs reflect his transition to family life; he had two of his three children with Patti by the time the albums were released.
• This is one of just a handful of Springsteen's '90s songs that he often played after reuniting the E Street Band. It was a staple of their 1999 reunion tour, in an arrangement where Springsteen, Little Steven Van Zandt, Clarence Clemons, and Patti Scialfa took turns singing.
• Ten days after Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Springsteen dedicated this song to him at a concert in Syracuse. Said Springsteen: "Back in '85, I used to say 'Nobody wins till everybody wins.' But that's not true. There's people out there winning but a lot of others are losing real big. The election is over and this is for Bill. Gotta wish him the best."
• Dion DiMucci covered this on his 2000 album Deja Nu. Springsteen is a big Dion fan and contributed to the liner notes.
• This was used as the B-side to Springsteen's 1993 "Streets Of Philadelphia" single.
• "If I Should Fall Behind" got a lot of airplay after the 2001 terrorist attacks on America as radio stations added songs of compassion and togetherness to their playlists and removed songs with references to planes and fire.
• Faith Hill cover this song on her 1999 album Breathe; Paul Carrack included it on his 2012 album Good Feeling.