Adam Raised a Cain

Album: Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)
Play Video
  • In the summer that I was baptized
    My father held me to his side
    As they put me into the water
    He said how on that day I cried

    We were prisoners of love, a love in chains
    He was standin' in the door, I was standin' in the rain
    With the same hot blood burning in our veins
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)

    All of the old faces
    Asked you why you're back
    They fit you with position
    And the keys to your daddy's Cadillac

    In the darkness of your room
    Your mother calls you by your true name
    You remember the faces, the places, the names
    You know it's never over, it's relentless as the rain
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)

    In the Bible Cain slew Abel
    And East of Eden mama he was cast
    You're born into this life paying
    For the sins of somebody else's past

    Well Daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain
    Now he walks these empty rooms looking for something to blame
    You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)

    Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)
    Adam raised a Cain (yeah)

    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh
    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh
    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh
    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh

    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh
    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh (hey)
    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh (hey)
    Oh oh, oh oh oh oh (hey) Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

  • Bob From South Jersey from ArizonaWhen I was a kid I thought Bruce wrote this song about me...he even got the make of the car right!
  • Mark from Worcester, MiMarc, Philadelphia-thanks. That helped.
  • Gene from San Diego, CaDefinitely a metaphor. Great song. Love the allusions.
  • Conor from Dublin, IrelandDOTEOT is Bruces best album by a distance ....
  • Sheldon from Toronto, CanadaThe first in a series of songs about his father. Listen to Adam Raised a Cain, Independance Day, My Father's House, My Hometown, Walk Like a Man and then Long Time Coming and you see a very interesting evolution from lyrics like "You're born into this life paying for the sins of somebody else's past" in Adam Raised a Cain to "Well if I had one wish for you in this god forsaken world, kid.It'd be that your mistakes will be your own. That your sins will be your own" in Long Time Comin
  • Marc from Philadelphia, PaThis song-- and much of the Darkness on the Edge of Town album-- is inspired by John Steinbeck's "East of Eden," which deals with a repeated father-and-sons story that mirrors a lot of Genesis.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Glen Ballard

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."