Bruce Springsteen lyrics -- Bruce Springsteen shows -- Bruce Springsteen records

Song title: Mansion on the hill


Mansion on the hill

There’s a place out on the edge of town, sir,
Risin’ above the factories and the fields
Now, ever since I was a child, I can remember
That mansion on the hill

In the day you can see the children playing
On the road that leads to those gates of hardened steel
Steel gates that completely surround, sir,
The mansion on the hill

At night my daddy’d take me and we’d ride
Through the streets of a town so silent and still
Park on a back road along the highway side
Look up at that mansion on the hill

In the summer all the lights would shine
There’d be music playin’, people laughin’ all the time
Me and my sister, we’d hide out in the tall cornfields
Sit and listen to the mansion on the hill

Tonight down here in Linden Town
I watch the cars rushin’ by, home from the mill
There’s a beautiful full moon rising
Above the mansion on the hill.

Statistics from the KILLING FLOOR (www.brucespringsteen.it) database

Published on the following official releases:

First known live performance: 29/06/1984 Civic Center, Saint Paul,MN ,USA
Last known live performance: 23/08/2016 MetLife Stadium, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA

Song 'history':


Published on the solo album NEBRASKA, in 1982
Recorded during the BITUSA sessions (late 1982-mid 1984), but then not included on the album.
The Born in the U.S.A. tour counted 21 apparitions of this song
Played at the Bridge Benefit show, 13-Oct-1986.
Played, in acoustic version, at the Christic Shows in LA, 16/17-Nov-1990.
Scarcely used during the Human Touch tour, with less than a dozen inclusions
Bruce inserted it 32 times in the setlists of the Ghost of Tom Joad tour
Often played during the Reunion tour (66 times)
The last NY show(s) of the Reunion Tour were released in both CD and DVD (more songs) 'LIVE IN NYC', which included also this song
One only rendering for this song in the Rising tour (20/09/2003 Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Buffalo,NY ,USA)
One only rendering for this song in the Devils and Dust tour (22/11/2005 Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton,NJ ,USA)
Played once in the whole The Seeger Session tour (21/11/2006 The Odyssey, Belfast ,Ireland)
Bruce gave this song one only shot through the Wrecking Ball tour (19/09/2012 MetLife Stadium, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA)
Two only renderings for this song in the 2016 The River tour (09/07/2016 Festival Park TW Classic, Werchter ,Belgium and 23/08/2016 MetLife Stadium, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA)

The song was also played in informal happenings or off-tour appearances
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database