The Ties That Bind

Album: The River (1980)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Chosen as the title for an album Springsteen recorded in 1979, but decided not to release. This and 6 other songs from that album were released on the double album The River in 1980.
  • Featured on the 1999 E Street Band Reunion tour.
  • Recorded in a wood-paneled studio with microphones over the drums to get a live reverb effect.
  • The first track on The River, an album that took almost 2 years to record, partly because Springsteen had written so many songs and had to choose just the right ones.

Comments: 5

  • Jenn from Buffalo, NyMy dad asks me if i know what songs mean, and he told me wut this song means, he said, that a son can't leave behind what he knows, his family, and his memories.
  • Gene from San Diego, CaMan, this song is pretty intense. Love it.
  • Tim from Farmington, CtI'm a huge Bruce fan, but I've often wondered if the title and the line that specifically says "baby, can you walk the line" is a Johnny Cash reference, since in "Walk the Line" Johnny Cash "left the ends out for the tie that binds"...

    Anyone have any idea?
  • Johnny from Los Angeles, CaBruce Springsteen can write songs like a madman!
  • Don from San Antonio, TxI've heard the demo track with the reverb on the drums that was mentioned above...completely crushing!!

    This song rocks devastatingly. When this, "Two Hearts" and "Hungry Heart" rally together, buildings fall. I hate to say it, but I was not impressed with any of the recent live performances of this song. Yawn. It deserves a better performance!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Queen

QueenFact or Fiction

Scaramouch, a hoople and a superhero soundtrack - see if you can spot the real Queen stories.

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?