I'm on Fire

"I'm on Fire"
Single by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Born in the U.S.A.
B-side "Johnny Bye Bye"
Released February 6, 1985
Format 7" single
Recorded February 20, 1982
Genre
Length 2:37
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s)
Bruce Springsteen singles chronology
"Born in the U.S.A."
(1984)		 "I'm on Fire"
(1985)		 "Glory Days"
(1985)

"Born in the U.S.A."
(1984)		 "I'm on Fire"
(1985)		 "Glory Days"
(1985)
Born in the U.S.A. track listing
Audio sample
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"I'm on Fire" is a song written and performed by American rock artist Bruce Springsteen. Released in 1985, it was the fourth single from his album Born in the U.S.A.[1]

History

"I'm on Fire" was recorded in February 1982 during the first wave of Born in the U.S.A. sessions. This took place in impromptu fashion when Springsteen started making up a slow tune on guitar for some lyrics he had, some of which had been written for "Spanish Eyes", which would later surface on The Promise, and drummer Max Weinberg and keyboardist Roy Bittan, hearing it for the first time, created an accompaniment on the spot. The result was a moody number that merges a soft rockabilly beat, lyrics built around sexual tension, and synthesizers into an effective whole; it was one of the first uses of that instrument in Springsteen's music.

The song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles charts in early 1985. It was the fourth of a record-tying seven Top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A. It is also remarkable that the single reached #1 in the Netherlands for 3 weeks in August 1985, at the same time as 2 other Springsteen singles ("Dancing in the Dark" and "Born in the U.S.A.") were occupying the Top 12.

Unlike the first three singles from the album, no remixes were made for "I'm on Fire" (nor were any made for any of the subsequent singles released). The song was not included in the album The Essential Bruce Springsteen despite the inclusion of 2 CDs.

Music video

The music video for the song was shot in March 1985 in Los Angeles, and was directed by filmmaker John Sayles. Unlike the previous videos from the album, the video was not a performance clip, but rather a dramatic interpretation of the song's themes.

In it, Springsteen plays a working class automobile mechanic with an attractive, married, very well-to-do, mostly unseen female customer who brings her vintage Ford Thunderbird in for frequent servicing, always requesting that he does the work. She leaves a small bunch of keys with him when she leaves in her car, possibly including house keys implying that she wishes to start an affair with him, but declines his offer to bring the car out to her house when it's ready. Later that night, he drives the car up to her mansion high in the hills above the city. He looks to a second floor window with the light on and is about to ring the bell, when he thinks better of it and drops her keys in the mailbox next to the door. He smiles wistfully and walks away down towards the city lights below.[2]

The video began airing in mid-April, received extensive MTV airplay, and later in the year won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video.

Track listing

  1. "I'm on Fire" - 2:36
  2. "Johnny Bye Bye" (Springsteen, Chuck Berry) - 1:50

The B-side of the single, "Johnny Bye Bye", was an adaptation of Chuck Berry's "Bye Bye Johnny" that focused on the death of Elvis Presley. Springsteen had first started performing it in 1981 at the tail end of The River Tour. It was then recorded in early 1983 during the second phase of the Born in the U.S.A. recording sessions. The song appeared on preliminary song lists for inclusion on what would become Born in the U.S.A. but was ultimately left off the final album.

Live performance history

"I'm on Fire" was performed only sporadically at the start of the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, but a couple of months later, it settled into a regular place in the middle of the second set. It was usually preceded by a long musical introduction, during which Springsteen spoke about not being able to sleep at night when he was young and his parents were struggling and the house was cold. The song was also given an extended coda of Springsteen's moans against waves of synthesizer. Such a rendition from an August 19, 1985 performance at Giants Stadium is included on the Live/1975-85 box set, but with the spoken part of the introduction edited out.

In some cases, red lighting from stage floor focused on Springsteen's face was used to further accentuate the song. On the Tunnel of Love Express, the song was still a regular. On the Human Rights Now! Tour, Springsteen conducted crowd sing-alongs during the chorus and coda parts. After some appearances on the "Other Band" Tour, the song went into a long retirement, not emerging again until occasional performances on 2005's solo Devils & Dust Tour, when he performed it on banjo with the red lighting back.

Between 1999 and 2008, the song was only performed on eight occasions with the E Street Band: once on the Reunion Tour (June 17, 1999, Bremen), once on The Rising Tour (April 18, 2003, Ottawa) and six times on the Magic Tour. The song has made surprise return on a semi-regular basis during the European leg of the 2009 Working on a Dream tour. As of November 2009, it has been performed live 245 times.

Cover versions

Live cover performances

Chart performance

Country Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) 12
Canada (RPM) 12
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 1[13]
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 10
United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company) 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 6
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.[14] 6
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 95

References

  1. ↑ Richard Buskin (March 2010). "Bruce Springsteen ‘Born In The USA’ – Classic Tracks". Sound on Sound. Retrieved March 4, 2012. Recorded with Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan, this moodily atmospheric, synth-based rockabilly track would be added to the album and released as its fourth single.
  2. ↑ Bruce Springsteen (1986). I'm on Fire (Videotape). Sony BMG.
  3. ↑ "Pitchfork Forkcast: New Music: Chromatics: "I'm On Fire" (Bruce Springsteen cover) [MP3/Stream]". PitchforkMedia.com. 2009-01-14. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  4. ↑ "CHROMATICS on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads". Myspace.com. Archived from the original on 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  5. ↑ "Swati: Small Gods - Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  6. ↑ "The Finches". Thefinches.bandcamp.com. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  7. ↑ "Hangin' On E Street: brucespringsteen.net". Bruce Springsteen. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  8. ↑ "The Kennedy Center Honors". Kennedy-center.org. 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  9. ↑ "FADER TV: At The Bar With Southern Comfort: Born Ruffians, "I'm On Fire"". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  10. ↑ Appleford,Steve (2013-02-02). "Tegan and Sara Explore New Territory in L.A. Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  11. ↑ https://youtube.com/watch?v=HZaARw7cnJc
  12. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  13. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 29, 1985". Archived from the original on 2007-06-17. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  14. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 229.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bruce Springsteen – I'm On Fire". GfK Entertainment Charts.

Works cited

  • Born in the U.S.A. The World Tour (tour booklet, 1985), Tour chronology.
  • Marsh, Dave. Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s. Pantheon Books, 1987. ISBN 0-394-54668-7.
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