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

Don Felder

Don FelderSongwriter Interviews

Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Eric Burdon

Eric BurdonSongwriter Interviews

The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.