The Price You Pay by Bruce Springsteen

Album: The River (1980)

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Songfacts®:

A different version is available on Springsteen's bootleg The Ties That Bind, an album Springsteen recorded in 1979 but did not release. This and six other songs from it were used on The River.
Emmylou Harris, who is a huge fan of Springsteen's songwriting, covered this track in 1981.

Comments: 5

Amanda from WaThis is a song that grows on you the older you get. So much wisdom and insight and a poem and a song in one. The song shows Bruce's unique talents as a songwriter and has stood the test of time. I got divorced years ago after making some mistakes and I learned to live with the price I paid.
Gary from UsPowerful song! Love the music. Never ever read the story of Moses how he Could not enter the Promised Land to face the price you pay. After listening to the song , did some reading about it.
Aurelio from Freehold, NjDefinitely one of the Boss's most underrated songs. I was floored the first time I heard this song because when you think about it, there is a price to be paid for everything you choose to do and/or everything you choose not to do. And you had better more successful making the right choices, or else life can be awfully long and painful.

The lyrics that reached me immediately on a very visceral level..."With their hands held high, they reached out for the open sky. And in one last breath, they built the roads they'd ride to their death."

What started out with such freedom and promise turned out to be the wrong choice and the fictional people in the song chose their ultimate demise....the price they would pay.
Sheldon from Toronto, CanadaOh how I wish he would play this song at his next visit to Toronto!!!
Kyle from Belleville, CanadaWhy doesn't the Boss play this more?

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More Songfacts:

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On MeElton John

Recording "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," Elton John was frustrated and sang the line "don't discard me" with an exaggerated American accent, which is why is sounds strange.