Lucky Town

Album: Lucky Town (1992)
Charted: 48
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Songfacts®:

  • Around this time, Springsteen was writing some songs about guys at turning points, confident their lives are about to change for the better after years of disappointment. "Roll Of The Dice" is an example, and "Lucky Town" is another. The guy in the song isn't quite sure where he's going, but he's calling it Lucky Town because he's feeling good about the evening.

    These songs aren't specifically about Springsteen but were influenced by events in his life. He had been through a divorce and also parted ways with his E Street Band. A lot of his grounding was gone, but he was also starting a family with his second wife, Patti Scialfa.
  • This is the title track to the album Springsteen released simultaneously with Human Touch. He had Human Touch completed in 1991 but was also working on the Lucky Town songs, so he decided to release them together. The ploy earned him a lot of press but the two albums thinned out demand and neither of them went to #1 as he hoped (his two previous albums, Tunnel Of Love (1987) and Born in the U.S.A. (1984), both hit the top spot). Even worse, many shows on his subsequent tour didn't sell out. Springsteen eventually decided that he was his best self with the E Street Band, and he got them back together in 1999. They had no trouble selling out shows.
  • In 1993, a live version of "Lucky Town" from Springsteen's MTV Plugged special was released as a single in Europe and went to #48 in the UK. The MTV special was supposed to be part of their acoustic Unplugged series, but Springsteen didn't comply and insisted on going electric.
  • Springsteen is a huge Bob Dylan fan, so it's likely this line is a nod to Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall":

    Out where the sky's been cleared by a good hard rain
  • In 2007, this was used in the film Lucky You, a box office flop starring Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France

Comments: 6

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn May 9th 1992, Bruce Springsteen performed "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)," "Lucky Town" and "Living Proof" on Saturday Night Live - his first network television appearance. Tom Hanks was the guest host that night.
  • Al from Hollister, CaGreat song.
    Love listening to this before I hop on my scoot for a nice long ride out to a watering hole.
  • Jaybee from Rochester, NyI love this song- Great guitar on it, although I don;t know who the guy in the video is (too screechy for me.
    good sound. Live version is very cool and I often play an acoustic version in my living room.
  • Martin from Chichester, United KingdomToo right. When i purchased this album i assumed it would be quite a diappointment... i was ready for that hearing lots of negative thoughts on this and human touch.
    However not just a few stand outs like lucky town... for me this is a very good album with beautiful songs- book of dreams/if i should fall behind/my beautiful reward an real uplifters like better days.
  • Gene from San Diego, CaTell the previous person I hate him. Great song. In fact, tell the previous person to go **** himself. No offense. Really, this album and Human Touch were great albums. Just extremely underrated.
  • Rob from Santa Monica, CaThis was released as a serious Bruce backlash was taking hold. I remember singing along, "I'm going down to Sucky Town, down to Sucky Town."
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