Greatest Hits

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The lyrics to tracks 1 and 2 can be found on Born to Run. The lyrics to track 3 can be found on Darkness on the Edge of Town. The lyrics to tracks 4 and 5 can be found on The River. The lyrics to track 6 can be found on Nebraska. The lyrics to tracks 7, 8, 9 and 10 can be found on Born in the U. S. A. The lyrics to track 11 can be found on Tunnel of Love. The lyrics to track 12 can be found on Human Touch. The lyrics to track 13 can be found on Lucky Town.

The following notes, written by Bruce, are taken from the book "Songs".

One afternoon in 1994 I received a phone call from Jonathan Demme. We'd met a few years earlier on a video shoot. Jonathan was calling to ask if I'd consider writing a song for a film he was currently directing called Philadelphia. The film was about a gay man's battle with AIDS and the fight to retain his position at a prestigious Philadelphia law firm.

I had my studio set up at home in Rumson and for a few afternoons I went in with some lyrics I had partially written dealing with the death of a close friend. Jonathan requested a rock song to open the film. I spent a day or so trying to accommodate, but the lyrics I had seemed to resist being put to rock music. So I began to fiddle with the synthesizer, playing over a hip-hop-influenced beat I programmed on the drum machine. As soon as I slowed the rhythm down over some basic minor chords, the lyrics fell into place and the voice I was looking for came forward.

I finished the song in a few hours and sent the tape off to Jonathan, figuring I hadn't gotten it, but to see if he had a use for it anyway. He phoned me in a few days saying he loved it and placed it over the images of the city of Philadelphia at the top of the film.

"Streets of Philadelphia" was a hit because of the film and because it addressed something that the country was attempting to come to grips with at that moment. How do we treat our sons and daughters confronting AIDS? How do we provide them the acceptance and compassion that overcomes prejudice and ties disparate communities together?

"Murder Incorporated" was an outtake from Born in the U. S. A. It dealt with the paranoia and compounded violence of life in America. Gated communities, the loss of freedom, and the mistrust of your own neighbor are the price we pay for writing off generations of young people to poverty, drug dependency, and severely limited hopes and dreams.

"Secret Garden" was cut from an unreleased album I recorded in 1994. It was darkly erotic and centered around the mysteries that remain between partners, even in the closest of relationships.

I wrote "Blood Brothers" on the eve of recording with the E Street Band again. The song is filled with the ambivalence and deep affection of revisiting a relationship spanning twenty-five plus years. You hope the rough spots are balanced out by your common history, the unique experience you shared, and the love you have for one another. We walked into the Hit Factory, got behind our instruments, and had a great time.

"This Hard Land" traces the search for "home" against the restlessness and isolation that is at the heart of the American character. It's about friendship and survival and ends the album with a shot of idealism.