Jersey Girl
A love song for his wife that Bruce Springsteen made a fixture of his own shows.
Tom Waits, from Heartattack and Vine (1980)
- Written by
- Tom Waits
- Released
- 1980
- Length
- 5:11
- Album
- Heartattack and Vine
Waits wrote it for Kathleen Brennan, who had lived in New Jersey. It runs 5:11 on Heartattack and Vine.
On the Discogs credits, Jerry Yester arranged and conducted the orchestra, Greg Cohen played bass, John Thomassie drums, Victor Feldman glockenspiel and percussion and Roland Bautista 12-string guitar, with Waits on vocals and electric guitar. Waits was grateful for the revenue Springsteen's recording brought him, and felt appreciated by a songwriter he admired.
Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen performed it from the Meadowlands shows of 9 July 1981, and Waits joined him onstage at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on 24 August 1981. Springsteen released it as the B-side of Cover Me in 1984, and the 9 July 1981 performance closes his Live 1975-85 box set from 1986. He kept playing it, including the Giants Stadium finale on 9 October 2009 and shows at MetLife Stadium in August 2016.
Covers and versions
- Polo Hofer (1984)
- Holly Cole (1995) On Temptation
- Bagatelle (1998)
- Corinne Bailey Rae (2019) On Women Sing Waits
More songs by Tom Waits
Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen), Heartattack and Vine, Jockey Full of Bourbon, Downtown Train, Ol' '55, Step Right Up
Sources
- Jersey Girl (song), Wikipedia
- Jersey Girl by Tom Waits, Songfacts
- Heartattack and Vine, Wikipedia
- Tom Waits, Wikipedia
- Discogs release: Heartattack and Vine, Asylum 6E-295, Discogs