A Night with the Jersey Devil

"A Night with the Jersey Devil" is a song by the American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen.

The song was released as a download-only single, accompanied by a video, on October 31, 2008, as a "Halloween treat" on the artist's website. This release featured a handwritten note by Springsteen:

Dear Friends and Fans,
if you grew up in central or south Jersey, you grew up with the "Jersey Devil."
Here's a little musical Halloween treat. Have fun!
- Bruce Springsteen

The video is included the deluxe edition DVD of Springsteen's Working on a Dream album, released in 2009.^[1] It is a blues tune with bullet mic vocals, including portions of the Gene Vincent 1958 song "Baby Blue" (specifically, one verse – featured here as the last verse), and therefore Springsteen shares the song's writing credits with the two co-writers of "Baby Blue", Robert Jones and Gene Vincent.

Springsteen's lyrics tell the story of a legendary creature known as the "Jersey Devil"; in 1735 a woman called "Mother Leeds" gave birth to her 13th child, who metamorphosed into an evil creature with bat wings, forked feet and a horse's head; because of this, his parents threw him in a river where he drowned and now haunts the Pine Barrens in New Jersey.^[2]

The song was released on 7" vinyl along with "What Love Can Do" on April 18, 2009, as part of the Record Store Day promotion.^[3]

References

^ Ray, Austin L. (November 17, 2008). "Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream gets date, tracklist". Paste. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
^ Vena, Jocelyn (October 31, 2008). Bruce Springsteen’s Halloween Treat: 'A Night With The Jersey Devil' Archived November 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine MTV News.
^ "List of 2009 Record Store Day Releases". Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2009.

External links

A Night With The Jersey Devil Lyrics
Gene Vincent singing "Baby Blue"
Official Robert Jones website
Official Bruce Springsteen website

Bruce Springsteen songs

1970s

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.	"Blinded by the Light" "Growin' Up" "Mary Queen of Arkansas" "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" "Lost in the Flood" "The Angel" "For You" "Spirit in the Night" "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City"
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle	"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" "Incident on 57th Street" "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
Born to Run	"Thunder Road" "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" "Night" "Backstreets" "Born to Run" "She's the One" "Meeting Across the River" "Jungleland"
Darkness on the Edge of Town	"Badlands" "Adam Raised a Cain" "Racing in the Street" "The Promised Land" "Prove It All Night" "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

1980s

The River	"The Ties That Bind" "Sherry Darling" "Independence Day" "Hungry Heart" "Out in the Street" "The River" "Point Blank" "Cadillac Ranch" "Fade Away" "Stolen Car" "Ramrod" "Wreck on the Highway"
Nebraska	"Nebraska" "Atlantic City" "Johnny 99" "Highway Patrolman" "Open All Night"
Born in the U.S.A.	"Born in the U.S.A." "Cover Me" "Darlington County" "Working on the Highway" "Downbound Train" "I'm on Fire" "No Surrender" "Bobby Jean" "I'm Goin' Down" "Glory Days" "Dancing in the Dark" "My Hometown"
Tunnel of Love	"Tougher Than the Rest" "Spare Parts" "Tunnel of Love" "Brilliant Disguise" "One Step Up"

1990s

Human Touch	"Human Touch " "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" "Pony Boy"
Lucky Town	"Better Days" "If I Should Fall Behind"
The Ghost of Tom Joad	"The Ghost of Tom Joad" "Youngstown" "The New Timer"

2000s

The Rising	"Lonesome Day" "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" "The Rising" "My City of Ruins"
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions	"Old Dan Tucker" "Jesse James" "Mrs. McGrath" "O Mary Don't You Weep" "John Henry" "Erie Canal" "Jacob's Ladder" "Eyes on the Prize" "Shenandoah" "Pay Me My Money Down" "We Shall Overcome" "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" "Buffalo Gals" "How Can I Keep from Singing?" "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?"
Magic	"Radio Nowhere" "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" "Long Walk Home"
Working on a Dream	"Outlaw Pete" "My Lucky Day" "Working on a Dream" "The Wrestler"

2010s

Wrecking Ball	"We Take Care of Our Own" "Shackled and Drawn" "Death to My Hometown" "Wrecking Ball" "Rocky Ground" "Land of Hope and Dreams"
High Hopes	"High Hopes" "American Skin (41 Shots)" "Just Like Fire Would" "Hunter of Invisible Game" "Dream Baby Dream"
Western Stars	"Tucson Train" "Western Stars" "There Goes My Miracle" "Hello Sunshine"

2020s

Letter to You	"Letter to You" "The Power of Prayer" "Ghosts" "I'll See You in My Dreams"
Only the Strong Survive	"Only the Strong Survive" "Nightshift" "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" "Turn Back the Hands of Time" "When She Was My Girl" "Hey, Western Union Man" "I Wish It Would Rain" "Don't Play That Song" "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" "7 Rooms of Gloom" "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" "Someday We'll Be Together"