But upon Jane's line of "Johnny don't cry," the music becomes more lively, with Danny Federici's organ taking prominence. The song proceeds at a moderate tempo, supported by what music writer Jim Beviglia describes as "hiccuping" from Vini Lopez' drumming. The music starts quietly, with David Sancious on piano with some support from Springsteen on guitar. Jane tells him that "you can leave me tonight but just don't leave me alone." Johnny agrees to return to her tomorrow, although he doesn't actually know if he will be able to, telling her that "We may find it out on the street tonight, baby/Or we may walk until the daylight maybe." Springsteen leaves the ending ambiguous, leaving to the listener's imagination whether Johnny's adventure that night meets with a tragic end, or whether the lovers actually do get away. Although rejected by everyone else, he finds redemption when Jane sympathizes with him, saying "Johnny don't cry." They sleep together, but when his old companions call to him asking him to join them in making "some easy money," he leaves Jane to join them. Johnny comes to midtown Manhattan after getting beat up while trying to work as a male escort.
Johnny is explicitly referred to as "a cool Romeo" and Jane as "a late Juliet. The story is set in New York City and tells the story of "Spanish Johnny" and "Puerto Rican Jane." It has parallels to Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story in telling a Romeo and Juliet-like story with Latin American characters set in New York. On the album, the piano solo at the end of the song segues directly into the guitar opening of the following song, " Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)." Lyrics and music Īccording to Springsteen, the theme of "Incident on 57th Street" is "redemption," a theme he would return to again many times. Springsteen had been working on it under the working title "Puerto Rican Jane." It was one of the first songs on which Springsteen felt like an "observer," writing whatever came out of him rather than self-consciously trying to write something specific. As with the rest of the album, it was recorded at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York. "Incident on 57th Street" was the last song Springsteen recorded for The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. It has been described by critics as a key development in Springsteen's songwriting career and regarded by fans as one of his greatest songs. "Incident on 57th Street" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen that was first released on his 1973 album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. Label to release as B-side of "War" in Europe in 1986įrom the album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
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