Badlands

Album: Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)
Charted: 42
Play Video
  • Well, lights out tonight
    Trouble in the heartland
    Got a head on collision
    Smashin' in my guts, man
    I'm caught in a cross fire
    That I don't understand

    But there's one thing I know for sure, girl
    I don't give a damn
    For the same old played out scenes
    Baby, I don't give a damn
    For just the in-betweens
    Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul
    I want control right now
    You better listen to me, baby

    Talk about a dream
    Try to make it real
    You wake up in the night
    With a fear so real
    You spend your life waiting
    For a moment that just don't come
    Well, don't waste your time waiting

    Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
    Let the broken hearts stand
    As the price you've gotta pay
    Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
    And these badlands start treating us good

    Workin' in the fields
    That'll get your back burned
    Workin' 'neath the wheels
    'Til you get your facts learned
    Baby, I got my facts
    Learned real good right now
    You better get it straight, darlin'

    Poor man wanna be rich
    Rich man wanna be king
    And a king ain't satisfied
    'Til he rules everything
    I wanna go out tonight
    I wanna find out what I got

    Well, I believe in the love that you gave me
    I believe in the faith that can save me
    I believe in the hope and I pray
    That someday it may raise me
    Above these

    Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
    Let the broken hearts stand
    As the price you've gotta pay
    Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
    And these badlands start treating us good

    Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

    For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
    That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
    I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me
    I wanna find one place
    I wanna spit in the face of these

    Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
    Let the broken hearts stand
    As the price you've gotta pay
    Keep movin' 'til it's understood
    And these badlands start treating us good

    Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, badlands
    Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, badlands
    Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, badlands
    Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, badlands
    Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, badlands
    Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, badlands Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 21

  • Ken from Philadelphia, PaAs someone pointed out below, the intro is very similar to The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". Bruce, to his credit, makes no bones about it: He loved The Animals as a kid and he totally stole that riff.
  • Simonjwhitaker@yahoo.com from AustraliaI just had a revelation about the meaning of this song..basically it distills down to this: Don't give up on love. The 'Badlands' are the ruins of romantic life, which you have to rise above and try again. The broken hearts are the price you gotta pay to find requited love.
  • Elmo from Se Missouri UsaThe first song from my all-time favorite album. I was 13-15 during its heyday, need I say more?
  • Looey from HowellHey Barry, I remember controversy regarding Bill Chinnock's Badlands album coming out at the same time...
  • Barry from Sauquoit, Ny*** 'I wanna spit in the face of these badlands' ***
    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)!!!
  • Justin from Kirksville, MoI've always thought this song was about the rise of the working class man, too. I love it. However, could this song also be offhandedly about Native Americans, specifically the massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1890? I mean, geographically the Badlands border the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where the event took place. Also mentions things such as "trouble in the heartland" and "caught in a crossfire." The Sioux Black Elk, in the novel "Black Elk Speaks," later talked about a dream about Wounded Knee in which he was "raised above" the Badlands. Lastly, the king's not being satisfied till he rules everything you could claim is a reference to the United States's manifest destiny policy toward Native Americans.

    Sure, it's a stretch, but nonetheless a valid claim to make. Of course, Springsteen sings about working in the fields, and other stuff that has nothing to do with Native Americans.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NySeems I read somewhere that the album was to be called 'Badlands' but another New Jersey artist release an album with that name, so Bruce change it to 'Darkness' Does anyone know the name of the NJ artist???
  • Jim from Long Beach, CaI'll never forget when I first heard this song on KMET in LA in '78. I was 14 and i got it. "Darkness...." changed my young life forever, in a great way!!
  • Gilbert from Houston, TxThe intro sounds very similar to The Animals "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
  • Sam from Thompsons, TxI love this song, when he performed this at the concert it was electrifying, its such a catchy song.
  • Nathan from Defiance, OhNot as glamorous or popular as some of Bruce's later work, but as powerful as anything he ever wrote. This is a great American song.
  • Joe from Perth, Australiaappears in val kilmers film "thunderheart"
  • Bess from San Diego, CaI also agree with you, Paul. Those lines always get stuck in my head. I like the verison Bruce performed on "Live 1975-1985." I heard an older version on a radio station, and I thought Bruce didn't put as much feeling into as he did in his later version. That's just what I think . . . Anyway, one of the best songs of all time, no competition.
  • Dave from Redditch Worcs, EnglandBadlands has got great lyrics,and a great guitar riff,Bruces voice is at it,s best on this album.He could,nt have started Darkness with a better song.
  • Ace from Kingston , CanadaBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are honestly the best band of all time... I dont think anyone can touch them, maybe the Beatles I guess.
  • Steve from Fenton, MoI agree with Paul from SC about the great lyric "Poor man want to be rich...". It describes ambition, which is a good thing. It moves the species forward. It's also why it's important to have a Constitution that protects us from any one person getting too much power.
  • Ricky from Los Angeles, CaThis song contains some of the best lyrics of all time, period.
  • Justin from Hong Kong, Hong KongThe Badlands film was based on mass murderers Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1958. Springsteen became fascinated with the Starkweather case and in the process of writing Nebraska had several long phone conversations with a retired Lincoln crime reporter who'd covered it and written a book about Starkweather and Fugate.
  • Mike from Blackpool, EnglandBadlands is a song in my opinion about the working class man who because of his day to day life has more knowledge about life as a whole than the man surrounded by material goods. Badlands is about the power of love and the overated pressures of money on people. Badlands is for every man/women who comes home see's there family and thinks we may not have it all but were happy.
  • Paul from Greenwood, ScOne of the greatest lines in all songs..."Poor man want to be rich, rich man want to be king, king ain't satisfied 'til he rules everything." Portrait of american society indeed.
  • Meredith from Grand Forks, NdThe Badlands are not just in South Dakota. They start in North Dakota and move south into South Dakota.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks

Ron and Russell Mael of SparksSongwriter Interviews

The men of Sparks on their album Hippopotamus, and how Morrissey handled it when they suggested he lighten up.

Linda Perry

Linda PerrySongwriter Interviews

Songwriting Hall of Famer Linda Perry talks about her songs "What's Up" and "Beautiful," her songwriting process, and her move into film music.

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80s

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80sSongwriter Interviews

'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.