Independence Day

Album: The River (1980)
Play Video
  • Well Papa go to bed now it's getting late
    Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
    I'll be leaving in the morning from Saint Mary's Gate
    We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow
    'Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
    There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
    But they can't touch me now
    And you can't touch me now
    They ain't gonna do to me
    What I watched them do to you

    So say goodbye it's Independence Day
    It's Independence Day
    All down the line
    Just say goodbye it's Independence Day
    It's Independence Day this time

    Now I don't know what it always was with us
    We chose the words, and yeah, we drew the lines
    There was just no way this house could hold the two of us
    I guess that we were just too much of the same kind

    Well say goodbye it's Independence Day
    It's Independence Day all boys must run away
    So say goodbye it's Independence Day
    All men must make their way come Independence Day

    Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint
    And the highway she's deserted down to Breaker's Point
    There's a lot of people leaving town now
    Leaving their friends, their homes
    At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone

    Well Papa go to bed now it's getting late
    Nothing we can say can change anything now
    Because there's just different people coming down here now
    And they see things in different ways
    And soon everything we've known will just be swept away

    So say goodbye it's Independence Day
    Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
    But won't you just say goodbye it's Independence Day
    I swear I never meant to take those things away Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 2

  • Eddie Nj from New JerseyOne of his better songs. If Bruce wasn’t so political, I’d be more of a fan.
  • Johnny from Los Angeles, CaYes it is, Steven. This is about how his dad inspired the rebel in Bruce. Independence Day is Bruce going on a different path then his father. Sad.

    (The song, not the choice)
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger

Kelly Keagy of Night RangerSongwriter Interviews

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.