The Bruce Springsteen Song that Steven Van Zandt Had to Convince Him Was Worthwhile

Bruce Springsteen nearly turned out to be too productive for his own good when it came to his landmark 1984 album Born in the U.S.A. When choosing the songs for that album, he nearly left a song now hailed as a classic off the list.

Luckily, he had a good buddy in Steven Van Zandt, who came to the rescue and revived Springsteen’s interest in “No Surrender.” That fantastic album just wouldn’t have been the same without it.

Narrowing It Down

It’s estimated that Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded 70 songs over a three-year period for possible inclusion on the album that would become Born in the U.S.A. Springsteen dashed off the album Nebraska almost by accident during that time, making a series of demos he released as they were in 1982 after attempts to spruce them up with the E Street Band proved fruitless.

He so enjoyed the stark, haunting vibe of Nebraska that he wanted to carry that through to the next album with the band. But some key advisors, among them his producer Jon Landau and Steve Van Zandt, also wanted to see him follow up on some of the more rocking, upbeat numbers he had recorded during the sessions.

“No Surrender” was nearly lost in that shuffle, were it not for Van Zandt’s advice. Ironically, Van Zandt had left the band during the making of Born in the U.S.A. to pursue a solo career. But Springsteen still trusted him as a sounding board. When The Boss played Little Steven a tentative mix and explained that “No Surrender” might be on the outs, Van Zandt argued for its inclusion.

The song’s unbridled optimism and belief in rock and roll dreams, the very qualities that made Springsteen doubt it, were what drew Van Zandt. Luckily, there was just enough room at the start of Side Two to squeeze it on the album. Even though “No Surrender” wasn’t a single, it has always sort of felt like one, and it quickly became an undeniable fan favorite at Springsteen’s legendary live shows.

Exploring the Lyrics of “No Surrender”

“No Surrender” features a narrator giving a pep talk to an old friend struggling to see the romance in life anymore. He begins by taking them back to an earlier, more innocent time: We learned more from a three-minute rock and roll, baby / Than we ever learned in school.

That sets the tone as Springsteen sings about the power of the passion that made rock and roll so alluring to these two as kids. His companion, however, can’t seem to summon that kind of feeling: You say you’re tired and you just want to close your eyes / And follow your dreams down. The song plays out as a back-and-forth, and you can imagine it as a kind of self-struggle between Springsteen’s realistic and idealistic sides.

You can also hear someone trying to hold onto the promise of youth, even if he knows the actual youth must be ceded: We swore blood brothers against the wind / I’m ready to grow young again. When in doubt, the music is the answer: Well maybe we’ll cut some place of our own / With these drums and guitars.

The song rises to a thrilling fever pitch in the final verse, as the internal debate continues: There’s a war outside still raging / You say it ain’t ours anymore to win. But the narrator refuses to believe that and holds out for his version of a happy ending to the end, one in which he can be found, With a wide open country in my eyes / And these romantic dreams in my head.

The chorus is the statement of purpose: Well, we made a promise we swore we’d always remember / No retreat, baby, no surrender. Considering that Springsteen had been friends with Steven Van Zandt since his teenage years, it’s likely that thoughts of those early days partly fueled “No Surrender.” Which is why it’s so fitting that, in the end, Van Zandt prevented the song from undeserved obscurity.

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