Prove It All Night

Album: Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)
Charted: 33
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Springsteen said the message he was trying to convey in this song is: "Success requires sacrifice." It is one of the songs on Darkness On The Edge Of Town that implies you have to work for the hopes and dreams spelled out in the songs on his previous album, Born To Run.
  • After Born To Run vaulted Springsteen to stardom in 1975, he was deflated by a legal battle with his first manager, Mike Appel, which kept him out of the studio for much of 1976 and 1977. When he and the E Street Band started recording again with producer Jon Landau, he had a lot of songs ready. Instead of picking the hits, Springsteen chose songs that fit the narrative of the album: You gotta pay the price. "Prove It All Night" ended up being the most radio-friendly of the 10 songs that made the cut, so it was released as the first single. It was just a modest hit, but that wasn't important to Bruce; the song integrated into an album he was proud of and that stood the test of time.

    As for the songs that didn't make the album, 22 of them showed up on the 2010 expanded release, including two that he gave away and were hits for other artists: "Fire" (The Pointer Sisters) and "Because The Night" (Patti Smith).
  • When Springsteen performed "Prove It All Night" in 1978, it was often with an instrumental guitar-and-piano intro that could go on for five minutes or more. He would sometimes tell a story about the song in this intro, which could be a different tale every night. A common one was a story he told about getting in a cab and hearing the driver complain about how he had to "prove it all night" to his boss.
  • Springsteen has played this live at least 500 times over the years on a variety of tours. plays well at large live shows due to its powerful opening guitar riff and explosive sax solo.
  • According to those involved, Springsteen got very particular on the Darkness On The Edge Of Town sessions, recording late into the night and insisting on take after take. "Prove It All Night" was particularly challenging, recorded over three days with at least 49 takes.
  • There are several stories floating around about Springsteen committing various misdemeanors for the sake of his art (like when he trespassed at Graceland). One of these tales involves this song. In 1978, he set out with some friends to graffiti one of his own billboards. They wanted to give Bruce a mustache, but ended up spray painting "Prove It All Night" over his face. (source: the book Bruce Springsteen by Marianne Meyer).

Comments: 7

  • John from Los AngelesSimply one of the best songs about fighting to keep your dreams alive. "what it means to steal, to cheat, to lie...."
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn May 23rd 1978, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their 117 show 'Darkness Tour' at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York...
    Twelve days later on June 4th, 1978 "Prove It All Night" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart as position #80; six weeks later on July 16th, 1978 it would peak at #33 {for 1 week} and it stayed on the chart for 9 weeks...
    Was track four of side two on his fourth studio album, "Darkness On the Edge of Town", and the seventh song of his 22 song set at the Shea's Performing Arts Center.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, Ny*** 'But if dreams came true, oh, wouldn't that be nice' ***
    On June 2nd 1978, Columbia Records released Bruce's fourth studio album 'Darkness On The Edge of Town'...
    It peaked at #5 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart...
    Two tracks were released as singles; "Prove It All Night" (it peaked at #33 on July 16th, 1978) and "Badlands" (reached #42 on September 17th, 1978)...
    (Never sign a contract on the hood of a car)!!!
  • Larry from Detroit, MiMy all time favorite song from "The Boss"...
  • Mark from Worcester, MiThat's okay Scott in St Louis. It works. Nothing wrong with a clean ass. In fact that might be a better place to start.
  • Ruth from North Attleboro, MaThis is thee cassette they had just switched from 8 tracks in '78. I was 15 and this CD blew me away as did Bruce that Nov. in Providence, RI!
    However I just took this song as a gf/bf/song, it never made sense that way. But I have so many spins on his music. Darkness was really hot. Deep and sensual.
    Ruth
  • Scott from St. Louis, MoI always thought the opening line was "I've been working real hard trying to get my ass clean."
see more comments

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."